Reply to orginial thread question
I shall take the dramatic stance of answering the question that actually started this thread. The question as I remember it was 'Is it simply a case of paying the money' The answer is yes.
Unfortunately the primary measure of your suitability to get into Ryanair is your bank balance.
When I did the Ryanair type rating course the difference in standard and ability was staggering. Their were pilots whom you would follow into the cockpit purely out of curiosity and there were pilots who clearly were very very able. The majority were in the middle. It was clear that there were pilots who were not going to make line training just by their struggle in various stages of the course whilst their were pilots who clearly found the whole experience very easy.
The ages ranged from 19 to 52yrs old with the majority being 500-1500hrs but a significant number of light jet and turboprop experience LHS & RHS with more than 2000 hrs at one end and 5 with less than 260hrs TT at the other end.
Whilst at SAS there were 16 on every course there and there were 3 courses at any one time the profile of the students was very similar across all the courses I met.
So that's the course, as for getting on the course. It is slightly harder than getting a McDonald's the selection procedure is in no way robust and the hardest part is actually getting an interview date. The selection procedure is not designed to be robust as FR solely care about getting qualified bums on seats, the selection procedure is line training.
As you pay for everything this is not surprising. FR have nothing to loose. SAS have good standards (usually) and ensure that you reach the standard if you are able and as such FR rely on SAS to do the selecting at your own expense which is why so many fail line training or the type rating. Pros and Cons of this approach is that if you are good enough then you will get in and if you aren't then you will not pass the line training. Unfortunately it means that many places are wasted with pilots who would have little prospect of success when in reality had they got some more time elsewhere they would have been fine.
This however does not affect FR or FRs safety as only those who are able pass line so the only people who loose are those who think they are ready but aren't!
Is it worth it? Even if you only go along type rate, do line training and then jump ship when you are offered the Brookfield contract its worth it as you have something that others wont have namely a few hundred hrs on type in brand new aircraft.
As for getting an interview in the first place, well traditionally that is the barrier between those who aspire and those who are doing. Passing interviews is never the hard part, nor is demonstrating the aptitude, either you have it or you don't so getting the interview is the part that makes the difference.
Getting the interview? Some on our course had been dragged onto the course a few days before as pilots had dropped out due to money issues, some had applied over a year before so random has to be the order of the day. If you chase the correct people at SAS or CAE then you can be on a course in a matter of days or weeks. It really is all about the money not your ability in any way shape or form. So if you have the cash, what are you waiting for?
VT