LocBlew - That is indeed the problem, as there are no guarantees. What you can guarantee, however, is that there is absolutely no other way into easyJet as a Captain except taking a chance on the Lisbon contract. I recognise it is far from ideal, but in all honesty we are not really in the business of making things ideal for external Captains taking jobs from our own First Officers. It would be difficult to overstate to an external candidate the angst that this deal has generated internally within the Company. Many people are rightly hopping mad at the handling of this whole situation, and it has been very damaging to pilot-management relations at a time when we least needed it. We have numerous well-qualified and competent First Officers waiting for Command Courses, and it is difficult to think of any credible justification for Direct Entry Captains. You will appreciate this is not a personal thing against individuals outside, but simply a desire to look after our own employees' interests. Nonetheless, there are still many positive aspects at working for easyJet, and I cannot blame anyone on the outside, working for the numerous smaller and unscrupulous A320 operators out there, wanting to join us instead. Compared to virtually any of those Companies, easyJet is a substantially better place to work.