I have been reading this thread with interest for some time. I applied as a rated FO and was invited for assessment and SIM back in July. 2 days after my SIM I received a called from Easy HR claiming that because of “excellent” performance during the process they would like to reward me with an offer, the offer in question ended up being a Flexi contract through Parc based in LGW. This came as a huge disappointment to me, like everyone else I applied through the easy web site on the basis that full time positions would be available; otherwise I could have just applied via Parc any time over the last 4 years. I very politely rejected their “offer” and explained that I am only interested in a full time position (a point which I also made very clear during interview), no problem she said and I was placed back on the list and if a full time slot comes available they will call, well that was 2 months ago and the phone has not rung.
The same thing has happened to almost everyone I know that attended the rated assessments. I know of nobody that has received an offer for full time employment. I am now almost certain that Easy have no intension of offering full time contracts to new entrants unless they struggle with numbers prepared to accept Flexi crew (which lets face it, they wont). After all the stress, hassle, time and expense of preparing for the interview, assessment and SIM it would appear that my success and future career with Easy came down to one question “what contract type are you interested in”.
Anyway my point is, lots of people are asking about the salary and the benefits and the differences between FO and SFO, trying to decided if 20K is a good investment, but actually the salary is irrelevant because everyone will be offered “pay as you go” flying. Yes it might eventually lead one day to a full time job, they say 1 year, but who knows it could be 2,3,4 or even never and that’s a big gamble for someone with a family and a mortgage to pay. If people are trying to make this decision they should at least have the relevant facts. If you accept a Flexi contract on the basis that you might one day get a full time position you are putting a lot of faith in a company that have openly demonstrated they don’t want employees.
Everyone’s situation is different so I am not making any judgments about the rights and wrongs of people accepting but as a professional it bothers me that pilots are being selected not on their ability or experience but on their willingness to accept sub standard working conditions. Whatever people decide good luck, just sharing my experience and thoughts.