Jerez in April

[Chris Field]

Am due to start the integrated course at BAE Systems this April.
Thought it might be a nice idea to find out who else from the UK will be making the same exodus as myself!

If there is a few of us we might be able to get some sort of booking discount?

Chris

[tunneler]

Check with Jerez, heard a little rumour they were working on a deal with an airline to provide cadets with reasonable airfares.

Could be wrong though.

[moggie]

There is a deal - it's with GBAirways (operating under BA colours) between Gatwick and Jerez. Our admin office has the details (but I think it´s €170 one way, €260 return).

Call admin on 0034 956 541 672 or e-mail (you'll have to check our websitre - I don't have the e-mail address handy).

Or try www.ebookers.co.uk loads of scheduled flights at good prices (I usually find schedules here cheaper and/or easier than lost cost operators).

Consider coming by car, though. It is a 15min drive to town and petrol is cheap. All your course mates will love you and you will probably never have to buy any petrol yourself!

[Wee Weasley Welshman]

GB doing Gatwick Jerez? Hadn't heard that. Or is it Seville? I note that Buzz intends to continue their summer schedule to Stansted.

WWW

[moggie]

Whhops finger trouble and getting two stories mixed up.

Yes, GB route is actually LGW SEVILLA - sorry for confusion.

However, I have been told that they plan to re-start the LGW - XRY route that they ran up until 2.5 years ago. That one, however, is unconfirmed.

[the kebabman]

Alright all. GB is Gatwick-Seville, it's 170euros return, and 250 I think for open return. Anyone else on the April course out there as a ppruner? I started in last month and think the place is the dogs bollocks. Should be good when you all get here in april, we'll show you round Jerez, then show you round Vagi's (you may not know what I mean now, but you will in a month!) It will also be good to get that 'new course' label off our backs! You'll have that for a month or two. Anyway, see you all soon. Kebabman

[Wee Weasley Welshman]

Ahh the new course indoctrination, I remember them well. Be gentle.

WWW

[stevie h]

sorry to divert this thread briefly but does anyone know of a website for jerez? if not any sort of contact no. or address.
cheers
h

[Student-Pilot-UK]

http://www.baesystems.es

[HardZero]

Hi Chris,

I'm due to start the April course, but I'm planning to catch a ferry and drive down.

Speaking of driving abroad, does anyone know where I might try for car insurance? I can get a green card for 90 days, but after that I will need to find a new policy. The AA offered me a policy from Axa, but the premium was £1903! Is it possible to find an insurance company out in Spain to cover my car? Any advice much appreciated.

[Chris Field]

Hard Zero,

Ah a road trip! I was thinking about doing the same but have had to sell the motor for additional funds.

I'm not certain but I think you need a spanish residency card to the obtain local insurance cover. This I think the college may be able to provide you with but only after an alotted period of time.
Give Mary Jo a call or Mike Wallis at BAE and they should be able to help.

Have a safe trip and look forward to seeing you spanish time!

Chris

[HardZero]

Hi Chris,

I considered selling the car for additional funds, but I figured I would loss money on it if I did. Then when I return to the UK I'd only have to purchase another, which I'd probably pay over the odds for, so after all the hassle, I would end up loosing on both transactions.

I'm not sure about the residency issue. Is residency required to purchase a car, to get insurance, or both?? I believe it takes 6 months to get a residency permit. This gives me a problem in so far as my current insurance will give me a green card for a max of 90 days in any one insurance year. This will take me to within a few days my policy renewal, following which I can apply for a new green card, but it would mean keeping the car in the car park, uninsured! The other solution is to perhaps cancel the policy when the Green card expires and then immediately reinsure the car and obtain a new green card. I'm not sure how the insurance company would feel about that, and I would also lose a year of no claims. Have you a specific contact for Mike Wallis? If any of the current students at Jerez can provide advice, I would really appreciate it.

Regards

HZ

[JohnnyPharm]

Without sounding too nosey (although I probably am!!) I just wondered how you guys went about getting the Euro 92k for the course.

Also how old are you guys. I am in my 30's and have thought about selling my house to do it, but its risky just now especially when I see BA are letting people go.

Any comments on the above to enlighten me or a PFO you nosey B would be appreciated.

Thanks

J :ouch:

[D McQuire]

Well it´s a wet Saturday afternoon here in Jerez, my flights have no chance of going ahead today, so here´s my 2 bobs worth:

Hardzero

The residency thing has just changed. We were just told our long awaited residency cards were no longer required - even though they will still be issued. Dont ask, its a Spanish civil service thing I suspect. Check it out with the college (Ann Angelico), they may know more.

Whatever happens, I´d bring the car if you can. It´s a great college with excellent facilities but it is 8km from town and about 25km from the beach. Plus this whole western Andalucia area is really worth exploring. The mountains between here and Malaga are really something to see. Luckily I brought my own transport and can just eff off out of here whenever I have some free time.

JohnnyPharm

No I wouldn´t say you are being nosey at all. It´s a good question, where the hell do you get 92k euros from.

From my 8 months here, for different people it comes from a bunch of different sources. The younger crowd are nearly all on some sort of loan either directly from their parents or guaranteed by their parents. Some a mix of both. Some of the slightly older ones have remortaged their houses to the limit or just gone and borrowed the whole lot off their own backs. Me well, a mixture of some luck on the G G´s and a few bob I had saved. It really is a case of wherever you can lay your hands on it I guess.

Age wise here I guess its a pretty even spread of people in their 20´s (20 to 29 I mean) who probably make up about 75% of the 50 odd people here. The rest are in their 30´s and a handful of 40´s too.

Timing wise, hmm I guess there never is a perfect time to do this. You could argue for doing it when there was a boom on but seeing as it takes 15 months just to get to the fATPL, how could anyone know if the boom would still be on when you finish. Beginning of an upturn would be ideal I guess, seeing as nearly all the airlines have pulled the plug on cadetships, but no one knows if this really is the beginning of an upturn. There were signs of this up to a month or so ago, but with this bloody nonsense going on in Iraq, all bets are off. Anyway I´m not getting into that....

[Katanaman]

Hi guys / girls!!

I work at BAE Systems; I just picked up on your insurance problems.

Basically it’s expensive to insurance a UK registered car via a UK company. The only one I managed to get was Axa via the AA Insurance services. They have a European department, which gives you a 12 month green card. But being early twenties will make the premium more.

Otherwise, try the following Spanish (English speaking) companies:

[email protected] Seviour Insurance

[email protected]

People also guy used cars of the local Ford dealership, but you need your Spanish ID card before you can do this and this can take 6 months from the point of your arrival.

This chap will sell you the car and buy it back after 6 months for 75% or after 12 months for 50%.

I had one myself and he's very straight with you.

Hope it helps - email me if you need any more info.

[window-seat]

Hi Guys n Gals,

My course (19) graduated in december, I think it is fair to say most of us are missing the 'Blue Gates' (especially the social side, the weather and of course, the regular flying)!! Returning to the 'Real World' is a shock to the system, trust me!! :(

Anyway, three of us got together and bought a car from Blas (at the ford garage), he just left it in the garage name until our residency cards arrived (about 3 weeks before we graduated :D ), and he sorted out all the insurance details. Yes, insurance is a bit of a killer for the younger ones (but we were eld gimmers, so no big deal)!! The car was clean and reliable (lots of crossed fingers), and got us all over the place, including the required monthly trips to Gib for those Pot Noodles and Galaxy bars!!

At least in a spanish motor, you dont attract unwanted attention from the police or local teenage idiots!!!! Having owned the car for 12 months, Blas offered us 50% of the money back, but we flogged it locally for a few more Euros!!! (Blas was still happy to sort out all the paper work and insurance for the new owner):}

Well, Put the work in, but make sure you enjoy your time there, its a great place to train. Some of our self funded course are now in Airline Employment, so keep the faith......things will come good!

W-S. :cool:

[Ricardo82]

Hey people,

I've noticed a few of you guys are allready at Jerez or are going soon. I'm starting on the 14th April.

I thought it would be a good idea to get to know some of my potential course buddies before i arrived.

If you feel like it drop me a line.

Ricardo.:D

[moggie]

Try Seviour insurance in Malaga - english chap runs it. tel 0034 952 562 506, e-mail [email protected] - I use them for mine and they are very helpful.

If they can't oblige, then have a go at www.surinenglish.com - try the "Classified Ads" section (link on the left hand side), click "search every section" and search for "insurance".

The "Adult Relaxation" section makes interesting reading, too!

Try the channel tunnel for crossing - it is a lot cheaper than the Bilbao/Santander ferries, only adds 1 day and night to your journey (offset by the time saved on the boat) and puts the distance up from 660miles to 1300miles. Eurotunnel Daytrips (just ignore the return part) work out as excellent value - Formule1 hotels in France are dirt cheap (try internet search for formule1 and the slightly more upmarket Ibis hotels).

Best driving route? Burgos, Madrid (outer ring road - the M40), NIV (N4) all the way to Jerez - via Cordoba. You may have some short stretches of pay moptorway up north of Burgos (worth it - only about €20 but much quicker) and also the A4 from Seville to Jerez at €5 is ok but not essential - the rest is free. Spome spectacular views going through the mountains, too.

PM me if you need extra advice.