Round 4….ding ding!
Here’s my view:
You’re Chief Pilot looking to recruit. Who do you select from the following??
Mr Oxford
fATPL/CPL/IR
TT: 200 hours
Or;
Mr Any Other School
fATPL/CPL/IR/FIC
TT: 750 hours
OK, take your pick! Who’s it to be? I know where my money goes.
Oh, and if things got even more desperate, Mr Any Other School will probably have another £20k left in the bank to do a TR.
I think the point here is more to do with individual circumstances. Yes, being in Oxford may have some kind of advantages, but as already stated here, the market is not good and experience is gonna have a big say on who gets what. Admittedly, if I had a spare hundred and fifty thousand in the bank (course and further rating costs and foregone salary with a prudence measure built in, in case I end up unemployed), I would probably opt for Oxford, however I am no way near as fortunate and I would rather go modular, keep my job and sleep safely at night in the knowledge that I’ll have some dosh in the bank at the end of the month.
In current times, airlines will be wanting to avoid taking any risks at all. This means recruiting experienced pilots and I’m sorry, but having Oxford on your CV can surely do you no favour at all at the moment. And anyway, what right has Mr/Ms 200hrs TT got over the guy that’s gone through the ranks, flown clapped out aircraft in the middle of the night up and down the UK!?
As they say, life is one big learning process….
I’m sure there’ll be many of you who disagree with my comments, but hey, its just my view and at the end of the day we should all remember that we have a common goal and are all in this painful process together.
All the best….