I understand why this thread has focused lately on the future prospects of hold-poolers. They are within touching distance of the summit. But it is worth remembering that an awful lot of guys and girls are languishing in the pre-sim phase of recruitment. We are through Base Camp feeling exposed sitting in delicate tents halfway up the mountainside. Is there an avalanche on its way?
We invested a great deal of time, effort and money in the process. We waited eagerly and with trepidation for the result of the interview and were naturally delighted to be informed that we were the 'right stuff'. Of course, we knew we would face a difficult sim assessment in the near future, but some of us felt it was in that examination that our true value as pilots would be noted.
That was many months ago. So long in fact that the emotional high has waned into weariness and the optimism has slumped into pessimism. I have not given up on the idea and life goes on creeping at its petty pace from day to day. It is only when friends and family ask what happened about BA that I think about it. Don't get me wrong, I believe it is rightly hard work to get to the hold pool for BA and I applied knowing it would take an unusually long slog to get to the end.
However, I haven't heard from BA at all for 6 months - and I do understand that their recruitment plans were thrown into turmoil by IAG buying BMI - and the lack of communication is very unsettling. 9 months after my successful interview, am I to write-off the investment I made in BA?