RC - take your point on the future plans of OATS current owners but I see that as a seperate issue to the immediate one raised on this thread.
I think it spurious to argue that becuase OATS are laying off some staff that they are going bust. Frankly is the weren't I would be more worries. BA Lufthansa and Air France are laying off huge numbers but nobody argues that they are going bust. Its merely the sensible thing to do in a downturn.
Self sponsored courses moaning that airline cadet courses are getting better treatment are nothing new. It will always be this way because the airline cadets are a block and you are but one person. Also there is a pragmatic reality that a school HAS to graduate an airline course on time because they have a very expensive type rating booked for the week after. Whereas the self sponsored guy will merely be in the process of sending out the first wave of his CV + covering letters. Who would you give priority to. No really. Who? The guys with a £19,000 course that HAS to start 3 weeks on Monday or to the other guys who won't even get their licenses back from the CAA for three weeks...
Its not fair but if you don't like it you should have gone to Multiflight/PAT/Bristol/Ravenair/Tayflight ot any of the other excellent smaller commercial FTO's who have no cadets to worry about. You paid your money and made your choice and partly no doubt you thought you were buying a better product because you used the same shop as BA/AL/BM/AIH et al... Well maybe not eh?
I am no OATS lover - I have slagged them in the past and for years people taunted me that I was bitter becuase I could not afford to go there. But I don't think its fair or reasonable to have a major thread running about them going bankrupt. I just do not see it - as I said before I will only think there is a problem when they drop the prices in a bid to generate cashflow. IF that happens then a LOT of other FTO's are going to be in trouble as they will lose customers hand over fist.
Time will tell.
Personally I think the best school is in Jerez but then I am biased
Good luck,
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