What is on offer?
Malgus are offering 100% sponsorships to 16 applicants to get a FULL ATPL (frozen) for absolutely no cost to themselves. The training will be done at BaeSystems in Jerez. All accommodation and food is included. Do not know if travel to and from is included.
Each applicant is required to pay up front £147. This amount has been arrived at by Malgus as £100 towards training and £47 to Malgus - to cover the cost of staff, advertising and 'other' costs. It has now been established that Malgus are proposing to 'fund' the project themselves.
These are their terms and conditions:
[list=a][*]You shall pay Malgus Limited the sum of £147 (inclusive of VAT)
[*]Malgus Limited shall arrange for you to participate in the necessary basic examinations and tests with a view to proceeding to a full Training Course to obtain a Joint Airworthiness Authority Commercial Pilots License. You will be given at least 2 weeks notice of the date of the first Examination which will take place at the Glynhill Hotel, Renfrew where Malgus Limited have arranged a reduced rate for candidates wishing to stay overnight.
[*]At each stage in the process the examining body will select those candidates who are to proceed to the next stage. The decision of the examining body will be final. Malgus Limited will have no involvement in this process.
[*]If you are successful in reaching the final selection interview, you will have to enter into a further, more detailed agreement with Malgus Limited
[*]For successful candidates, Malgus Limited shall pay the full cost of accommodation and training (with exception of multiple resit fees) to achieve such a license. For the avoidance of doubt, on successful completion of the course there is no obligation to make any reimbursement to Malgus Limited of the sponsorship money.
[*]Refund of fee. If you tell Malgus limited at least fourteen days before the first Examination date of your intention to withdraw from the program you shall receive a full 100% refund. If seven to fourteen days notice is given before the Examination date then you shall receive 50% of the fee paid. Under no other circumstances ( including failure to pass the JAA FCL Class One Medical Examination at the final stage ) will a refund of the fee be granted.
[*]If Malgus Ltd in their sole discretion decide that the project is not viable and decide to cancel the sponsorship offer at any time, all candidates who have applied will receive a full 100% refund of their initial fee.[/list=a]
How do the numbers stack up?
First some assumptions:
- £147 per applicant
- £40k per course in Jerez (approx) = 400 applicants
- £100 used as basis towards all training costs.
Figures:
Fundamentals:
- To put 16 selected candidates through BaeSystems will cost £640,000.
- No of applicants required by Malgus to fund the 16 courses is 6400.
- If Malgus get 6400 applicants they will automatically receive £300,800 for their running costs. i.e. £47 from each applicant. (less possible refunds and charges from Parc Aviation).
Now for some other relevancies;
I doubt that we can assume that they will get 6400 candidates in one go. It will take a period of weeks. So they will have on going costs for Parc and for the Glynhill Hotel but they will have revenue which they can turn into further cash, so I think it's clear that they are NOT doing it for altruistic reasons.
They are probably doing it for business purposes only and not solely for the welfare and future of wannabes.
Finally, there will be 6384 disappointed applicants for the 16 that are chosen (399 for) each one chosen.
Conclusion:
Even if Malgus get enough first time round applicants to pay for one or two courses there will not be enough people left or entering the market for a second round of operating the scheme - the bad feeling from the 1000's of rejects will ensure that... however, where they are going to get over 6,000 wannabes who are prepared to part with £147 is anybodies guess and I suppose if people are desperate enough then maybe, but I doubt it.
Althought the company is legitimate and they are offering a chance to get on a course they require many more people to part with their money to be able to fund it. It is all a bit of a lottery. you have a 1 in 400 chance of getting on a free FATPL course for a £147 ticket but you may think your chances are better than that if you feel you have more aptitude than your fellow applicants.
It could be you... but I doubt it!
[ 12 October 2001: Message edited by: Sir Algernon Scruggs ]