Excellent article
As usual, Ryanair is disarmingly honest. But when does a Ryanair pilot get paid? Conway explains that the "cadet" applying for a first-officer position with a CPL/IR and frozen ATPL but no type rating, has to pay a training organisation €25,000 for a 737-800 type rating that will also prepare him/her for Ryanair standard operating procedures.
LINE CHECKS
The cadet then joins the line, unpaid, as a second officer for base training, and operates on the line, unpaid, until successful completion of a line check. After passing the line check the pilot gets his/her first pay cheque. The new pilot is not bonded to remain with the airline for any minimum period.
The question Ryanair does not answer is how much the "new kids" are paid to start, and whether they were guaranteed a minimum number of flying hours a month, given that a Ryanair pilot's pay is based on the amount of flying.
EasyJet has a similar programme, according to would-be pilots, but unlike Ryanair - and despite repeated requests - the airline offered Flight International no-one to discuss pilot recruitment directly.
The result of this situation is that self-sponsored pilots arrive on line with massive debt - about €100,000 - and having taken the entire risk of their investment on themselves. The airlines accept none of the cost and take none of the risk.
In an economy like the present one, the argument runs, that is a good deal for pilot hopefuls. The question remains, is it sustainable? How many "rich kids" are there with the necessary talent and dedication? Will the Ryanair-type model remain sufficiently attractive to persuade them to continue to invest, especially absorbing all the risk themselves?
The first sparks of a bigger media involvement?