Peter,
can you tell me again how you've met several Jetstar cadets, they're all cream of the crop but complain about the training... Just in case I forget in three posts.
I've met more than twenty Jetstar cadets who passed thru OAA/CAE. They all seemed to say pretty much the same thing, that OAA was a bit disorganised, but that it worked out for them and they are happy with the end result.
I've met and spoken with more than a dozen Jetstar cadets and former cadets now flying the A320.
They all say pretty much the same thing.
1) OAA/CAE is disorganised and you need to be on the ball to push thru
2) The Jetstar cadetship is pretty much what is advertised
3) Probably 90% of cadets who start the course end up flying for Jetstar
4) They are happy with the deal and the way things turned out for them
I've met Jetstar cadets from four or five courses, and from what I can tell about 90% complete the training and I haven't heard of one to completed not getting a job.
The former cadets now flying for Jetstar regularly complain about OAA/Swinburne being a bit disorganised, but seem generally happy with the deal they got.
If you were a young guy keen on the airlines and got offered a similar cadetship you'd be mad not to jump at the opportunity.
I've known about a dozen people who've done the Jetstar Cadetship in the past few years.
They were all generally positive about it, although a couple said they thought the Virgin Cadetship was better.
Speaking to some of the Jetstar cadets it appears the biggest problem is that OAA has become too big and disorganised. I also guess all of the ownership changes going from GFS to OAA to CAE in a few years wouldn't help.
Over the past couple of years I've met about a dozen current or former Jetstar Cadets.
They all seems pretty enthusiastic and motivated.
The two complaints I heard were:
* OAA was a bit disorganised about the flying, and the cadets had to compensate for this by being a bit more motivated and pushing harder to get the training done.
* There was little or none contact between Jetstar and the cadets during the training.
I've met a dozen current and former Jetstar cadets.
None suggested that anything significant was misrepresented.
Any gripes they had are probably due to minor mismanagement, rather than misrepresentation.
I've known a few Jetstar cadets over the years, and recently met a small group who had just finished at OAA Moorabbin and were waiting to go to the UK for their A320 Type Ratings.
While they complained a bit about OAA being a bit disorganised, they seemed very positive about the outcome.
My understanding is that for the first year they go on some type of "flex-contract", where they are more casual than full-time permanent.
Regards
