I gave this program some consideration last year, however decided against as I felt it too risky. To those who didn't make the final cut and those who do please think carefully about the below.
British Airways and its parent company have severe financial problems. It has a huge pension fund deficit and its bonds are rated as junk. Its parent company is losing a billion Euros a year and could potentially take British Airways down with it. Analysts have referred to British Airways as a “Pension Fund with Wings” such is its pension fund deficit.
If British Airways ceases trading or you get made redundant then you still have to pay back the 100k loan. Even if you or your parents have not guaranteed the loan against a property and British Airways has acted as a guarantor then you are still responsible in all cases.
As a new cadet you will enter the short haul fleet for at least the first 5 years, short haul currently does not turn a profit. In the Analyst call transcript it states “We're going to move on now to my last slide, which is about short haul. Now, we know that short haul needs to be profitable in its own right. That's absolutely clear.” British Airways has in the past sold off parts of its short haul network and I have no doubt that they would do so again if they could still feed the long haul network. Would you still have the same enthusiasm if the short haul was sold to FLYBE, Easyjet or Ryanair ?
British Airways requires that you take out life insurance to cover them for the bond. I take this to mean it doesn't want to have to pay your bond back if you die before its finished. Doesn't give you a warm fuzzy feeling does it?
Those who do make the cut are given a “conditional employment contract“, but there is no mention of the conditions. Do you have to get 100% in ground school exams? Does British Airways have to be profitable? Do the 787 battery problems need to be fixed so they can expand?
There has also been a succession of law breaking at British Airways. Virgin dirty tricks (read the book if you have not), fuel surcharge collusion, freight pricing collusion. It wasn't that long ago that British Airways was threatened with a fine for flying a 747 across the atlantic with only 3 engines functioning:
British Airways Flight 268 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Labour relations seem to be awful. If you have not read the thread on here dating back to the Openskies dispute, then you should. 90% of Union members voted, of which 86% voted to strike. The end result was the British Airways Pilots getting humiliated in court as they had no legal basis for striking. The legacy cabin crew do not have a great relationship with the pilots. The mixed fleet cabin crew contract is an example of what British Airways can do to split its employee groups to lower costs, then make redundant the higher cost employees.
This quote summed up to me why I don’t want to work at British Airways: “Some people who have dealt with me have said that I can be unreasonable. And I'm disappointed, actually, that it's only some people who say that.” That’s a direct quote from Willy Walsh and if he wants to instill that culture in IAG and British Airways, I don’t want to be part of it.
I am in a secure well paid job, but my passion for flying could not overcome the huge risk that joining this program would entail. I wish everyone the best of luck, but before you sign you should consider all of the above.