@misterman (or something)
A known quantity? I went Integrated with Oxford back in '06 and if there is anything I have realized about myself and my fellow 148HR TT colleagues back then it's this; you are anything but a known quantity. I swallowed the "integrated training is much preferred by the airlines"-pill like many others back in "my day" which after all isn't so long ago and I can tell you one thing; I wish I hadn't. I would have been in an infinitely better financial position going the modular way and earning my stripes up without a debt to service.
I've had the good fortune of not having to pay for any type-ratings, but that's all it was; good fortune. I wasn't any better and am not any better the pilot because of my "Integrated Airline Preparation Programme (c)". If anything I would say my best training days were conducted in the four years I spent with my first airline flying the DHC8.
Conclusion: cut the bull-crap. The industry is filling the right hand seat with people that can pay for it and not with people that are suitable for it whether with experience, or the ability (shown on some sort of thorough assessment). I don't blame you for falling for it, I was 20 when I did -- there were no sponsorships back then. In some sense the current state of the industry is the fault of my generation, yet somehow I can't help but feel utterly abandoned by our more senior colleagues in the more established airlines. Where are the strikes in EZY and RYR to prevent this abuse of youngsters? Or the unions in KLM/AF/DLH/SWISS appealing to the general public and the EU like they are now about FDR's? As far as I'm concerned this financial bloodsucking needs to stop; paying for any type rating should be made illegal in Brussels as a requirement to be EU-OPS compliant.
Or on another note: isn't there anything regulators can do about this clearly discriminatory hiring practice happening in the industry? One of the only fair firms around seems to be BA, their requirements usually mean that you speak English and have a bunch of hours on your name with the right license. Try doing that in the Netherlands, France, Germany, etc. One would think that if you have a JAR/EASA license, speak English, have a high school diploma and a logbook full of experience applicable to the job there is almost no way to dismiss a candidate.
Anyway, rambling on' ... a known quantity, talk to you in 3000 hours and you can tell me what you think of that comment yourself.
Last edited by drfaust; 12th Feb 2013 at 23:30.