mm
Do you have a personal vendetta against OAA or have you just decided to launch another broadside at them?
Feel like you were almost promised a job at a Big Airline? Well having been at OAA and having known an awful lot of people there (obviously) only a very, very naive few believe that. They're a business and as such have a responsibility to sell their product, and they do it very well but I do not for one minute feel that I have ever been lied to about job prospects!
Most of us ARE fully aware, however, that the quality of training at OAA is second to none, and this has been agreed by countless ATPLs at all seniority levels who advised me to go there, and who specifically stated that OAA was, in fact, a damn good string to have in your bow when you look for the first job, because again I have been told, more than once, that OAA is the benchmark in airline pilot training. From day one you are trained to think in an 'airline' way, and while some of you may find it ridiculous, the airlines don't seem to, and never have. That's the difference, and yes, you do pay more for it. How much more? Look at the Cabair and FTE (and now CTC) websites - no-one offers cheap integrated training. In fact, I would suspect that all in pretty much each course is a similar cost. Certainly the basic cost of the all the courses is very, very similar.
And as I have come to realise, OAA can only work with what they're given. They take something like 40% of the applicants from what I remember off the top of my head...they have a certain number of places and have an obligation to fill them. It's a business, not the RAF. They have only an obligation to provide the training that they are paid for. They've done that for me and all of my coursemates so far and the training that they have provided has been absolutely excellent.
Barring a few minor details, which, talking to students at other integrated and modular schools are common, I cannot say I have ever honestly regretted coming here. True the industry is going through a rocky time at the moment, but good training complements ability and intelligence and is the key to sucessful entry into the profession. Having heard from professionals on the flight deck, training office and recruitment office, I'm pretty convinced that I've had that from the right people, and it's like listening to a stuck record coming on here and seeing people having a crack at OAA for one poorly explained reason or another.
At the end of the day, what has always got me is this: if you don't like it, don't go! But don't, as some people on here seem to do (and mm I'm not referring specifically to you here), come and dig in without having experienced it. I have been guilty of that several times before as I dare say most of us have, but until people stop doing so we will all be criticised for our training choice and/or training provider for various reasons that usually boil down to "It's not how I trained, therefore it's not the best way".
Somewhat tangential rant over, donning tin hat!