Air 2 bob is actually around 2 years in the company or less if you have the minimum requirements. Of course, if you are ex-military then you can get on a command course with less than the minimum hours stated in the Ops Manual, despite what your experience was when you were in the military. If you have stacks of relevant hours (eg. on same routes and aircraft) these will NOT be factored (like the EasyJet factoring as mentioned above).
Officially you need a minimum of 4000 hours with 2 seasons experience.
At 3000 hours you can get assessed in the sim as ready for command. You need to pass 2 sims to command standard (which is an unknown quantity) then you go onto line assessment for command. Then if you pass that you get to go on a course. There is a list but it gets used up very quickly. The main obstacle is the way the assessments and course are done. You are expected to be a competent Captain the moment you walk through the door on the first day of the course. There is no training before or after the course to bridge the gap from FO to Captain. If you fail you are meant to wait a set period, although this appears to only apply to some people.
Air 2 bob have a few new aircraft arriving in the next couple of years and what with people leaving too it means that there is virtually no waiting for commands.
[This message has been edited by Mr Benn (edited 14 April 2001).]