Are UK airlines into buying bonds?

[mikepops]

After a long struggle I managed to get that elusive first job in March this year, be it in Eastern Europe. Now family commitments are drawing me back to the UK, however in turn for the TR the company I am working for have bonded me for 50,000 Euro (devaluating @ 10,000 Euro/year). I have heard that some airlines prefer to buy a bond and get someone already type rated rather than invest in a trainee, thereby eliminating training time and resources spent on training, associated costs, and most importantly a risk. Does anyone know of any UK airlines that are prepared to buy bonds? Any advice is most welcome. Thanks, Mikepops

[MVE]

Have you tried phoning or emailing any airlines directly, you may get a more informed response that way....they can only say no!;)

[zooloflyer]

A 5 year bond of 10K a year?? Easy to land the jet job that way...

Just joking my friend! Is this an amount you would have to pay back to the company or an amount of your money that has been blocked??

What happens if you leave? I have known pilots leaving in the past ignoring the bond - the company sued but never won...apparently judges don't like the airline bond mentality...

All the best!

[Luke SkyToddler]

50,000 euros, jesus h christ!

There is no type rating on earth that costs 50,000 euro - so if it is actually a bond you've signed (as opposed to a bank guarantee or loan or whatever) then I suspect it's not worth the paper it's written on.

Employment courts do not look kindly on contracts with built-in punitive costs to the employee to ensure they don't attempt to leave. Back in medieval times they called that kind of thing 'indentured slavery'.

First thing I'd do, is ask your so called employer for an itemized breakdown of how they spent 50,000 on your type rating qualification. When they fail to provide it (which they will, because the actual cost of jet type ratings to airline customers is more like 12-15,000 euro) then give them the phone number of your lawyer and walk away laughing.

If they admit that the 50,000 is just a figure they made up to try and make money off wannabe pilots, and try and get you for 10,000 euro instead, then give them a few choice newspaper cuttings about how those chinese and eastern european people smuggling gang masters are now spending time in prison in first world countries for signing up prostitutes on exactly the same legal basis as the contract you signed with this 'airline'.

If, on the other hand, you've signed a deal with some dubious loan providers or posted some kind of bank guarantee or something in order to get the job, then you may have a bigger problem on your hands.

To answer your original question, no I've never heard of employers in this country buying out bonds, especially not for low time FO's. Why should they, when people are queueing up to give THEM money :rolleyes:

[Bad Robot]

It was all the rage in the late 80's early 90's. I'd say it was dead in the water now.

BR.

[Fly Better!]

I would say you have more chance of hell freezing over unfortunately there are plenty of people out there still prepared to pay for a job :rolleyes:

Good luck