MPL Pilot student, what to do?

[mrmax29]

I am a MPL pilot student in Scandinavia which I am on the end stretch in. We are flying MCC 737 FNPTII right now and will soon continue to 737 FFS then 737 TGL's to complete the MPL cycle and receive our certificates. The school itself is funded from the government so I have all intention to finish, of course. What I should do afterwards is what i'm wondering.

We have a possibility in Sweden from another school to convert our MPL to CPL ME/IR which will cost us approx 9000€ for 10H SEP and 5H ME which is all required, quite expensive but decent to get everything handled. This is valid for everyone who was 70h PIC flying. In total right now I have about 100h and 30h PIC in airplanes together with ~170H FNPTII + FFS once we are finished. This would require 40h flying PIC which would cost me another approx. €3.4-5.5k depending on airplane and club.

What are your thoughts on either,
(i) Once I'm finished, proceed to fly PIC to get the 70H and then do the CPL ME/IR conversion to be able to fly single pilot IFR ops to rack up those hrs.
(ii) Wait until the airline business recovers and then try to score a job with current licenses, and if no luck - do the CPL conversion course then

Mixed feelings, our airline has told us that what they value most are IFR hrs and that VFR hrs in SEP's doesn't matter to them so much. They have invested alot in the MPL program and have hired lots of pilots with this license, the question is when they will start hiring again.
Not sure what to do, all opinions and thoughts are appreciated.

[redsnail]

Lots of "ifs". That's the problem. When will the market recover? More importantly for you, when will the airline want MPLs again?
Big issue is you're being trained for the B737. Not too useful if the only folks are hiring are operating Airbus.

So for €14-15k you can switch over to a "frozen" ATPL and free you up to apply to anyone etc. Given you've done Airline "X's" programme then a few VFR hours shouldn't affect your employability. Now, if you did something interesting with the VFR flying, such as tackle a challenging trip, then there's a lot of learning in there. You'll get a lot of real command experience and will make an interesting story at the interview.

Timing is every thing and keeping an instrument rating current is a real challenge and can get very expensive. Keep that in your calculations.

[mrmax29]

Good points, and kind of supports taking the CPL conversion later if needed. Just to point out, MPL you could say also is a "frozen ATPL" as you are eligible for one at 1500hrs just as CPL pilots, just that you are limited to multi crew aircraft.
The B737 part is very true, especially since many operators in EU are going more Airbus generally.

[dclevenger]

I'd love to hear more about your MPL training. Outline, Cost and information like that. Who is it through?

[mrmax29]

It's a government funded program in Sweden through Lund University. Can't say much more than that, so cost is 0 except ATPL tests and such.
Prerequesite is that you are fluent in one scandinavian language to apply.

[dclevenger]

Cool, I was more curious about that syllabus and stuff like that.

[VariablePitchP]

Given L3 wanted 65K ish for people in your situation on top of their 120K ish fees that’s a steal!

[CAT3C AUTOLAND]

Variable Pitch,

Have you any idea of what has happened at L3 to the MPL cadets? I don't think you have your facts straight.

[Fixedgear]

Mrmax,

Do the additional hours and the CPL/IR now. You will then not be reliant on this one MPL airline and you would be able to also accept GA work. Things are going to be tough for a long time but in this way you can continue to do some form of flying.

Once we get out of this crisis your MPL airline might not exist anymore but you would be able to apply for any other job that is out there.

[sms8]

Sounds to me like you should convert.

[mrmax29]

Cool, I was more curious about that syllabus and stuff like that.
Well, during the first semester we fly SEP only with some PPL theory to get a basic understanding of things.
After the summer we continue with VFR SEP flying and start the ATPL theory which runs from August - March with a winter break.
During the fall we also fly FNPTII to prepare us for the IFR flying that will come in the spring. After ATPL finishes we continue with IFR SEP flying, SEP total comes out to about 75hrs. We also do an UPRT course now required.

When fall comes again we start flying the 737 FNPTII at our school for approx 100hrs and in the laters parts we perform the technical course for the 737 and proceed to the full flight simullator then TGLs. All done in about 2 years.

And MPLs are no longer tied to one airline

[mrmax29]

Mrmax,

Do the additional hours and the CPL/IR now. You will then not be reliant on this one MPL airline and you would be able to also accept GA work. Things are going to be tough for a long time but in this way you can continue to do some form of flying.

Once we get out of this crisis your MPL airline might not exist anymore but you would be able to apply for any other job that is out there.
Yeah my goal is to start flying quite a bit now here when spring comes. Just to have the hours to be able to convert. The airline in this situation is partly owned by the government, doesn't seem like they will let them go bankrupt as it seems now atleast.