"I find it vaguely astonishing that people are quibbling over the salary from this scheme! "
Libertino there was no complaining about the salary. Had you read it properly you would see that there was merely a discussion on what it would be. And even if there was "quibbling", everyone is in a different boat.
747craze, if you also read the posts you will see there was a misunderstanding on someone else's behalf and I think everyone did previously know the facts from the ba website. Reading your post you could swear you were head recruiter for ba pilots. I don't know who you think you are trying to knock others over nothing. I myself can't see why ba would want to employ someone who thinks so highly of himself and makes such a sweeping statements about others. So you're a cut above the "'potentials '" then are you ? Bloody arrogant !
G-F0RC3,
"Anyone who questions its worth are either a) very inexperienced in what the aviation industry is like today, or b) not passionate enough about becoming a pilot to recognise that there is far more to it than merely earning money"
I totally disagree with you. I don't know who you had in mind with part b, but it takes some idiot to choose piloting in order to make money above other far better paid professions. I think I speak for most people on here by saying that being a pilot is all i have ever and will want to do. Now I hope to one day fly for ba. However if qatar were to come calling, I would choose them simply for the worker benefits (such as free accomodation, medical care etc.), vast route range (places ill never see on the ba network), the starting salary (far exceeding BA for a cadet position) and lastly, the most important for me is that qatar's career progression is immensely faster than ba. The average time on the a320 atm is just under 3 years. This means within 3-5 years you may very well be flying fo long haul on a 777 due to the massive aircraft orders and confurmed pilot shortages at qatar. Without deviating too much, I know a BA pilot who has been there for 11 years and is STILL on the 320 as an f/o (By which time you may be a 777 captain with qatar and probably considering a move back to the UK to fly for ba). I can presume this as I have spoken to a qatar A346 captain who was only there 9 years.
So ask yourself, if money weren't an issue would you still act so hastily in only applying to BA and dismissing other opportunities ? If you've a brain you will look at the much bigger picture and realise that qatar will give you much more than BA in the long run. Qatar's benefits start right away. This makes up for the huge price tag, (no rent, medical care etc). The only downside is living outside the uk, but with the ratings you could potentially earn at qatar, you may even return to the UK and apply to BA already having longhaul hours.
Inexperienced in the current Pilot market I most certainly am not. Quite the opposite, only a very inexperienced person will turn down qatar for ba even though they were able to make qatar without financial stress.
So i hope now you can see we're not all in the same situation and despite a scheme being the best for you, it may not be the best for everyone !!!
It would be greatly appreciated if everyone can stop making ignorant judgments about one another without knowing all the facts !.
P.S: if you're wondering why I mentioned another programme so much, it's because some people have difficulty understanding that some of us are actually trying to compare schemes and seeing what is best for each person.
Last edited by momo95; 28th Oct 2013 at 21:06.