Britannia Final Stage

[2BBA]

Right Gentlemen (Ladies????),

How did everyone do?

Let's keep the proverbials crossed, and info share on results!!!

Arghh.

[Brick Tester]

2BBA -

Psychologist -phwwwaarr.

Fingers crossed mate.

BT

[2BBA]

Hahhahah.......agreed.

Hope u managed to keep it focussed!

When were u there?

2BBA.

[Cambo]

Oh aye, the psycologist was fairly tidy. Lovely accent too.

Had the interview yesterday, can but hope for the best!

By the way, sitting around Luton airport for any great length of time isn't much fun, I spent about 6 hours or more hanging around it yesterday (waiting for a flight, not cos of any sad airport fixation you understand). There's only so much Time Crisis II you can play!

A' the best

Cam ;)

[Nutter16]

Hello chaps/chapesses,

Agree with everyone so far! - never felt so comfortable/relaxed talking to a psychologist!!!

Anyway to other news, had the interview(s) (if you can call it that) today at 11.30, went for the customary cheeky beer afterwards then drove home.....

Only to have my watching of the Simpsons interrupted by a phone call from the man himself saying they would like to offer me a place :eek: After jumping round and making a prat of myself on the phone and calming down a bit I had a quick chat and he said they'd finished interviewing today and wanted to let people know. I dont know if that means they were going to ring everyone today or tomorrow as well.

Given that the "interview" was more of a chat I get the impression they had a fairly good idea who they wanted to take but just wanted the interviews to confirm it!

I'm now off for the evening for a good ol' drink up before abstaining from alcohol ready for my now impending Class 1 :D

Good luck everyone, hope to see you for this weekend checking out the place very soon !!!

N.

[TJV]

Hope you're able to abstain from the customary cheeky beer before flying....when you get on the line that is!

For real?

[Nutter16]

Well obviously that goes without saying (Im presuming that your comment was meant in a light hearted way!)

To tell the truth it was nice to just get the whole thing over with and relax knowing you'd got that far and done your best.

N.

[Cambo]

:D

Well, last weekend I treated myself to an X-box and was happily playing my mate at Colin McRae 3 whan I too was interupted by a phone call from the Britannia guy to offer me a job!

As Homer Simpson might say: 'Woo hoo!'

Class 1 ahoy, better get it arranged fairly sharpish.

Nutter, what's going on this weekend? The guy didn't say anything about it to me, but then I was kinda running around the flat ala headless chicken at the time! Think he mentioned an induction day and even a cheecky trip to Jerez to look the place over. By the way, well done fella!

Perhaps some e-mail address swapping might be in order?

Well, even after such good news I still have to work, so I suppose I'd better do some!

A' the best, Cam

[Nutter16]

Good lad, well done mate! :D

I dont know anything about this weekend in particular, I got the impression there would be some sort of induction do early next year and they didn't give any indication of the timing of the weekend away thing!

I need to give Gatwick a ring today as well!!

Well done again and see you soon!!!

Cheers

N.

[Cambo]

Ahhhh, I see now; the bit in your previous post that you said 'see you for this weekend' threw me, I thought you meant this coming one!

I was thinking that if you got in they would pay for the class 1, but it looks like i'm/we're gonna have to stump up the 400 ourselves! (Perhaps my X-box purchase was a little premature!) What with the whole 15 grand thing I could do without the extra outgoings, but hey, should be making good money soon enough hopefully ;)

C

[Hoping]

Cambo and Nutter,

I get the impression from your posts that you were telephoned very shortly after your interviews, possibly even on the same day as your interviews. From what you have said, Cambo, you were telephoned over the weekend, before official interviewing had even ended. Is that right?

Another question, to help me understand what Britannia values, you two don't have Class One Medicals yet do you?

Good luck with your Medicals, the course and your jobs with Britannia.

[Cambo]

No mate, I was called last night (Monday) after all the interviews were done, and no, I don't have a class 1 yet but i've just booked it. Also, I don't have a PPL or anything, only a grand total of around 15 hrs and some of that is ultralight. I do however have a 1st Class Masters in Aeronautical Engineering and I've spent long periods of time abroad. I've also got a bit of industrial (aero) experience.

Hope that helps.

Cam

[2BBA]

Congratulations you boys!

Nothing for me as yet, alas...... :-(((((

Ahhh well, onwards and upwards.



......and HOLD that attitude on climbout

[Brick Tester]

na.. nor me..

But all is not over!!

this is like waiting for someone to pull a PFL on you.. will they or won't they?

BT

[Nutter16]

Hoping,
I was telephoned Monday evening around 6 which was, I presume fairly soon after they finished interviewing the last people yesterday. I think they were interviewing Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

I also dont have a Class1 medical, I've got a Class 2 and a PPL with about 60hrs on it, although Im not convinced that counted for a great deal.

Other than that I have a 2:1 in Aero Eng from a fairly well respected uni and have spend the last 3 years working in Civil engine development and health monitoring.

Cam, got the medical booked for next Friday (ages away!) I'm away this weekend and part of next week and I'm going to be busy with work so that was about the earliest I could manage!

Cheers,

N.

[Cambo]

Nutter,

i've got mine booked for Wed the 20th Nov and I've sent off an e-mail to Britannia HR to check who we send the certificate to etc...

No doubt it'll all be in the letter they're sending out though. I agree with your point about the PPL as well, I don't think it matters a great deal. As long as you've done a bit of flying to show its not just a whim perhaps? Do you think we'll get to meet the psycologist again! ;)

C

[Bleep]

Well done guys who've received a call. Nutter - well done mate ! Thought you'd get in somehow. Let us know how you all get on. You'll be fine at CAA I'm sure, it isn't that bad. Overall, even though it seems unlikely I'm to be offered a place now, I had a really good impression of Britannia. They seemed like a top bunch of people.... very friendly atmosphere I thought. You are lucky people ! Back to the drawing board...... see y'all,

Bleep.

[wolverhamptonlad]

Hello Boys & Girls

Had the phone-call last night too - got in - bonus!.

Hope to see everyone down at Britannia soon. Time to beg, borrow and steal that 15K!

[Brick Tester]

not being too down, but does anyone recon there's a chance they're still deliberating, or do you all recon it was all tidied up on Monday evening?

'You should have heard by Friday' resonates with the certainty of predicting when a letter would arrive using Royal Mail First Class..

Bravo to you guys who got through! A job well done and very well deserved, I hope you have a brilliant time in Jerez!! Lucky things, don't forget about us!

Anyone got any last moment gasps of optimistic reasoning?

Brick Tester
:)

[Hoping]

Sorry Brick Tester, I for one don't think anybody who hasn't been called yet is getting in. We already have three here on PPRuNe who are saying they got the call on Monday. I'm sure there are another three out there that are either too busy to make a post on PPRuNe, or possibly don't even know about PPRuNe.

I'm trying to work out what to do to improve my chances for next time:
It seems that a Class One Medical isn't a big advantage. The number of hours flying doesn't seem to be a big deal either. The interview was more of a chat and didn't test how an individual reacts under pressure. There were, in my interview at least, no questions about what a pilot's job is like, no questions about aircraft and no questions about Britannia Airways itself.

I tend to agree with Nutter when he says:

"Given that the "interview" was more of a chat I get the impression they had a fairly good idea who they wanted to take but just wanted the interviews to confirm it!"

This makes me wonder if anybody that has been selected was able to answer 'yes' to the question about knowing anybody who works for Britannia. Given that the interview was short and rather pointless, the only real source of information on the character of applicants would have to have come from trusted personal referees. I imagine such trusted referees could only be so trusted if they are also employees of the airline. After all, in the book "A Chartered Success" it is made clear that many employees are wives, children and friends of other employees within the airline.

So, Nutter, Cambo and Wolverhampton Lad, did you know anybody on the inside by any chance?

[Nutter16]

Hoping,

Im afraid not no ties within the airline, not even any contacts there! The best I had throughout this was a good friend from uni who recently attended training at Jerez with Aer Lingus (thanks mate! ;) ). Had the interview been more technical and/or job related a lot of his advice would have proven to be invaluable!!

The only thing I can read into it is age and/or experience - how old are other people? As I have said before Ive been out of uni for over three years now so maybe thats more of a factor.

I certainly felt a lot better during the assessments and interview than I did when I went for the BA cadetship when I was 19!!

Cheers,

N.

[Brick Tester]

Hoping,

I guess you're right -we've had it! May as well keep the humourous sense of chin up.. it was great preparation for the road most travelled (ie CPL/FI etc)..

I don't think there's any need for the nepotism call, I think people were hearded out by the four lovely ladies at Team Games.. as most matching a certain profile..

I too thought it was a done and dusted affair.. I had ramped up the knowledge on the company, fleet and people etc.. but got asked a few open ended boners.. it was a 'jolly good fellow' acid test for which you (et moi) may not have been in the spotlight for.. we were reservists! Hey, never mind!!

Plenty of other things coming around at the moment.. good luck everyone!!

BT

[wolverhamptonlad]

Sorry Hoping, didn't know the chief training pilot, present captains or cleaners for that matter. Before meeting the company at the assessment centre the only contact I had was trying (very unsuccessfully) to pull an ex-britannia hostess in a Manchester bar!

On a serious note, however, I belive that the final interviews were really devised to see how you interact with other people who you would be working with - hence the FO, of course I don't know for sure but that's what it felt like to me.

[Cambo]

Folks,

I don't know anyone on the inside either I have to say so there was no one who was biased towards me. I too read up on the company a fair bit and was fully prepared for an onslaught of tech quesstions and situational stuff.

I'm afraid I don't know why they picked who they picked, I can only assume more bearing was put on the previous rounds than I thought was going to be the case.

My interview went well though since I can talk forever on my adventures abroad and university stuff. The degree must have had a big influence too.

A' the best for the future guys.

By the way, i'm 22. Don't know if thats pertinent or not.

[Sagey]

Cambo tend to agree with you about degree.

Having looked through profiles etc there is one common factor with those that got in and the ones that didn't Aeronautical Engineering degree.

Have fun guys :)

Sagey

[Brick Tester]

not so,

I have aero eng and MSc in wonderstuff..

boo hoo

the test was the 'will you fit in' last natural part of any recruitment process... the top six were most likely to fit in (or rather be more amusing on a long haul trip)..

And good on 'em. Its like 'natural social selection'.. ever wondered how much of you was a reflection of your friends..

I've ordered my mates onto PPLs, quick sharp!;)

BT

[2BBA]

Has anyone had a rejection call yet????

I've also heard that there will be a couple of reservist in case the worst happens and one/some of the chosen ones fail their Class One. Is this true????


......and HOLD that attitude on climbout ------> especially pertinent to us rejects!!!!!!!!

[Hoping]

Thanks for the replies guys. It is nice to hear you say you didn't know anybody on the inside.

Once again, good luck with your medicals, the course and your jobs with Britannia.:)

[high-flyer]

Guys and Gals

Congratulations to those of you who were offered the Brits Sponsorship - from what i hear the selection was very thorough. I graduated from BAE Systems in March 02, you'll have a great time there - work hard and you'll have plenty of opportunity to play hard.

Nutter16 is a good friend of mine, nice to see him finally on the road to CPL'dom. It's something i know he has always wanted. No doubt i'll be finding an excuse to fly myself into LEJR to meet you all sometime next year.

To all of you who didn't get in, I know the rejection is hard to take, but it's very nice to see the offers of congratulation to the lucky few. Keep the chin up, and things will improve. Just keep on trying, reach your goals however you can.

As Nutter said, i was with Aer Lingus until about Oct last year, when me and the other cadets were made redundant. No-one from my course has a job yet, which is difficult. Renewals are rapidly approaching, but must keep going in case things improve in the new year.

Good luck all, if you need any info about your forthcoming training, then i'm willing to help. You will have a great time. Jerez is great, the beach is only 15 mins away!! The aircraft are the best you'll find anywhere, instructors are a good bunch.

Enjoy it and well done!!

high-flyer

[aerfungus]

First of all well done to you lucky few who have made it all the way,of course a part of me dislikes you strongly out of jealousy as I only made it to the last 50 lol
I think you can look at all those that got in and those who didnt and there isnt going to be a whole lot of difference between.Im sure plenty like me have a good Aero Engineering degree and still didnt make the last 20.
Not taking anything away from those you have made the final cut,but on a different day or with another airline the final selection could have been different.With the nature of the selection process and the high level of applicants Im sure Britannia had to make quite a few judgements calls or pull a few short straws.
Im surprised that you are being made fork out for your own medical as this isnt usually the case.On the other hand when thats the only thing standing between you and Jerez,family members will be sold to get that money!
Lets just hope for all of us poor souls still in mourning that Britannias interview technique (Lets have a little chat,no nasty questions) will spread through the land to all recruiting airlines lol.

[darthmuppet]

I missed the boat on this, what were the requirements for applying?

was this the pay £30k and we will pay the rest type?


:confused:

[wolverhamptonlad]

Not quite, there's quite a few subjects on the forum that detail what was required. Do a search for Britannia AND Requirements - that should help you out

p.s. Ignore any bits you find on having max 30 hours fly experience to apply - not true

p.p.s. You only (?) have to fork out 15k

[youflyturkey!!]

First of all congratulations to everybody who got through to Jerez, I’m sure that you’ll have an amazing time. A mate of mine has recently finished his BA training and some of the guys from his course spent some time over there, apparently it’s superb.

I was wondering if you could give me a bit of information about the stages that you got through? I only made it to the initial testing stage at the East Midlands but I’ll be reapplying next year. What did the group exercises consist of? I’ve done some before for the job that I’m doing now but they were more of the “build something out of Lego” style and from the sounds of things these were a bit different. Also what were the interviews and following stages like. From reading previous posts I guess you had to do psychometric tests and that there was an interview with a pilot. What sort of stuff did he/they ask you? Sorry for being a pain but I’d prepared a load a different stuff based on what my friend had told me and the things that you had to do sound really different (+ I didn’t get there anyway but that’s another story!)

Anyway well done again to everyone who made it and good luck to those of us who are going for it next year. Be seeing you all in Jerez later!!!

[Cambo]

Well, as you already know the first stage was all of the aptitude tests, which people say you can't prepare for but I feel that the more you do them the better you get cos you get used to the time limitations. You also learn to skip past questions that'd take to long and only answer if you are sure, since I think most of such tests involve negative marking.

The second stage had three parts:

2 group excercises and phsycometrics. The first group task involved an imaginary situation where the company was moving site to somewhere else, and there was a huge pile of metal tacks at the new site that had to be disposed of. The disposal method had to be good for the company, the local area and perhaps a charity. As most people would tell you, be vocal but don't try to control the group. Try and be organised and keep one eye on the main objectives so that you don't go astray.

The second task was a kind of 'lego' one using coloured tubes. I would give advice here but it was all a bit frantic! No doubt it's just a check on your team work ability. Again, be vocal so the HR people can hear you and you'll find it's actually quite fun!

As for the personality tests, just answer truthfully I suppose, though I guess it'd be best not to come across as being anti-social and as having little confidence?

I found the final interviews were both quite similar. As in both asked about uni, family life and personal life. No situational stuff, no questions about the company and surprisingly not too much about flying (principles of that is, there was a bit about flying experience).

And, well, thats it really, or my take on things at least. I'm sure other people might have found things to be different or have differing advice to give. Hope it helps.

Oh and sorry for spelling mistakes, i'm at work so have to type quickly!

Cam

[Nutter16]

Cam,

you beat me to it!!

I would agree with everything Cambo has said the whole selection procedure was very similar for me. The interviews were a (pleasant) shock and I cant actually remember being asked anything about flying! He did have a quick look through my logbook but thats all.

Both interviews appeared very similar to me, I actually think I spent longer with the psychologist which was a little bit more of the "why did you choose etc" type questions.

Other than that not sure what else I can say thats not already been said in this and other threads. Check out the thread entitled "Britannia Stage II" - may give you a bit more of a lowdown on the group day.

Good luck

N.