Hello guys and girls
I have also been successful in passing to stage 2 of the selection process and I was invited in for the skills assessment and all that follows on the 21/11 no later than 8 am. Unsurprisingly I also got very excited and happy but all the excitement and motivation has gone until I read earlier posts in this thread....I really suggest all those who passed stage 1 go back and read some of the posts written by those already in the industry particularly posts by HundredPercentPlease. I understand he is already a pilot with easyJet (EZY) and he really seems to know what he is talking about. I am very reluctant now I don't know if I should attend stage 2 or just go to FTE Jerez as s self-sponsored pilot and get a decent frozen ATPL where I am not tied to any employer. It is also pointed out that you will fly 'with' EZY and NOT 'for' easyJet. So you will simply be a self-employed flexicrew pilot where you are not protected by the employee union as a normal contracted EZY pilot because you are 'self-employed'. I know some of you are thinking you will join EZY and after a few months of work try to apply to bigger airlines such as BA. This was my intention as well.....however it is impossible because the lousy MPL license you are getting is based on easyJet SOSP (Standard Operating System Procedures) and is therefore only valid within easyJet. Apparently there are currently about 500 flexicrew pilots with easyJet according to HundredPercentPlease. Not all of them are lucky to be able to get a 'real' EZY contracted pilot position as only a few are advertised.
I am not trying to ruin it for you and myself of course....I thought it would be better for us to actually know what exactly we are throwing ourselves into. I am being serious you should go back and read previous posts about this scheme and this MPL license. Do now before it's too late.
An example here on how risky the MPL actually is. I am NOT suggesting easyJet will go bankrupt but I want you to focus on the part where they explain why those MPL pilots will have difficulties in joining other companies:
Downturn throws MPL pilots on scrapheap
Some of you might say: 'what is he going on about?? I don't mind staying with easyJet for years they are really good, you don't care if what they offer to customers flying with them isn't as good as what Emirates or Qatar Airways offer because at the end you are a 'pilot' in the sexy uniform with eppalautes and golden stripes'. Yes I agree, but we should be aware of what kind of pilot we will be. Someone who is forced to accept T&Cs of lower standards and benefits compared to others in the same company (EZY). Someone with random rosters and no emplyee protection. Someone who has no choice but to remain like that and probably fall into a lot of debt and the risk of your asset used to secure the loan acquired because what you are earning is less than what you contribute to as monthly repayments towards the BBVA loan.
YOU SHOULD GO BACK and read some the earlier posts and make a decision. I am still undecided now I want to discuss this with you guys who are in the same position as me now (Got invited for STAGE 2).
Looking forward for your replies. This quote below is from one of HundredPercentPlease posts. Go back and read more of it!
What frustrates me is the secondary effect of the MPL - and the whole circulatory nature of the problem.
1. The A320 is a poor place to learn to fly. The lack of dual controls make the Airbus a nasty trainer. The FO cannot follow through as the Captain does a tricky take off or landing - and likewise the Captain cannot feel and rescue a poor landing. We have already paid the price (in Lisbon) and we are chopping good guys in the base training who "cannot land". I feel sorry for them, because they may have ended up as excellent pilots, if their career path had been slightly different.
With the old route, you would do 1500 hours at one of the UKs numerous TP operators, and learn the basics. You would then have made a good Airbus pilot.
2. The more wannabes are prepared or able to pay for their first job, the more the Operators and FTOs scrabble around to take that money. Traditionally it was the FTO, now it is both. A320 TR for £35,000? Yep, that's the one you have to pay for if you want to be a contractor for eJ.
As the new FO becomes more of a profit centre than an asset, new ways are devised to up the price and reduce the cost. Upping the price is easy - "it's your only way in, son". Reducing the cost includes reducing the amount of time in expensive real aircraft. I would argue that 1500 hours is a good amount to have before you get into an Airbus. Recently we have been inundated with 250 hour pilots, and many have struggled. Safety has, without doubt, been compromised. Now with the MPL, it's 90 hours and many, including me, would say that that is too few.