As always, there is nothing as boring as the truth. For all you sandpit dwellers, I wish you well. Indeed, only this very night I discovered yet another top quality chap leaving us at easyJet to go in search of big jets and warmer climates. I wish him nothing but the best.
For those like myself happy to remain at easyJet for the foreseeable future, it is not all bad. Regarding the issue of DEPs, it seems unlikely we will be taking any soon. The word from above is that our pool of flexicrew pilots is now sufficiently large that we do not need to take more. I am also told, however, that we have just started another batch of CTC cadets (43 in total they tell me) and they will being trained throughout the winter. This does beg the question about what happens to our guys whose contract finishes in October. It would not go down well to see new bods coming in for training whilst other are left out in the cold for the winter. The signs are that most, if not all, of our current pilots will be kept on for the winter and then into next year, but that has still to be officially confirmed. Another interesting statistic for those that like that sort of thing is that we have trained 94 new captains from our own ranks this year (nearly 10% of our entire FOs) and are going to do another 96 for next year. I would humbly suggest that few airlines in Europe, and indeed anywhere else, can offer those sort of promotion opportunities. In addition, a number of those people are likely to leave to the sandpit, thereby creating even more opportunities for those that want to stay here. Regarding DECs, that is inconceivable for the foreseeable/infinite future and the stuff on here suggesting that is a likeliehood any time soon is either malicious speculation or just plain foolish. We have a large number of FOs awaiting commands and another (several hundred in total) who are nibbling at the hours for command should they choose to stay. And finally a word about the temporary commands. EasyJet may not have planned it this way, but most of the guys on that deal have made a fortune out of it. The got the £10k for taking it, avoided the 90% for 6 months that goes with a permanent command and then at the end of it nearly everyone of them got permanent commands after a few months anyway.
So life in the sandpit may be a wonder and delight to many, and I can only wish them well in their new-found utopia. It is a one-way transaction and so it is good they do enjoy it, as they will not be coming back to an airline job in the UK any time soon. For those who choose to stay at easyJet, it is not perfect, but it does suit a lot of people very well indeed. Our highly-publicised summer problems are proving a silver lining for numerous aspiring Captains as many more command opportunities will appear next year than would otherwise have been the case. It is my sincere hope that we will start recruiting 'proper' pilots again soon (not DECs!) rather than only from the ranks of the flexicrew scheme. In the meantiime, I wish all those marooned at FlyBe and the likes every success in their search for better things.