BA Final Board

[BigBadDon]

Hello All,
Firstly congratulations to those of you who got in, Great Expectations, Punkboy and Charlie 130 - respect. Good luck to those who are waiting and for those who had their FB today (4th April), Grace, LORI, hope it all went well. Token Bird good luck tomorrow. I should have seen you there but asked BA to kindly move it back due to unforseen family commitments.I now have it on the 25th, jus wanna get it done tho.Anyway can any of you guys shed some light on the essay title, and also what should I say about my complete lack of ANY flight experience???! Please get back to me, esp. regarding the essay.Many Thanks,
BIGBADDON

[Pielander]

Hi BBD

I've been mulling over my unsuccessful FB tonight, unlike some lucky b@$t@rd$, so I can tell you all about what not to do :)

Firstly, is there any chance you could get some flying experience before the 25th? Just to say whether you enjoyed it or not. Otherwise, you might be left with no option but to make excuses for yourself. (Not good, trust me!) Don't forget, they have to be able to justify why they're giving you the job, so don't make life hard for them if you can help it.

The essay was to write an article in High Life saying how pilots contribute to the company's success, blah blah waffle, what you can do for the company's public image, why you wanted to become a pilot, what it has meant in terms of a change in lifestyle, and what the company's success means to you. You have one hour; good luck.

Mind you, I don't suppose you'd want to take any advice off me, given my recent track record http://www.pprune.org/ubb/NonCGI/frown.gif

Once again, good luck, and I hope this helps you (more than it helped me).

Pie.



[This message has been edited by Pielander (edited 04 April 2001).]

[hardonharry]

big bad don,

i got into Ba with no experience, my tips are
don't bull**** your way through, if they start askin you technical question, if you don't know admit it. However its vital to demonstrate some kind of passion, i.e state what industry mags you buy, and tell them about all the airshows you have gone to and how you always look around the cockpit when you go on holiday etc.
remember they like rookies as you have no bad habits and are not cocky like have the members on this forum.

hope this was helpful.

[BigBadDon]

Nice One Pie, might have to take up your advice on the flying before the 25th. Was you in the same situation then, i.e no flying experience? If so, what did you say?
Anyone else out there got any advice?

Chin Up Pie

Cheers

[BigBadDon]

Big Hardon,
Thats nice to hear actually. You reckon I should knock going flying then, had u done absolutely nothing except as a passenger going on holiday?

[jonathang]

I am happy to hear of someone in the same position as me. I have only had 4 hours of flight experience and I am applying to BA. I would be grateful if you would let me know how you get on.

Thanks

Jonathan

[jonathang]

Can anyone tell me what Financial comitments you have to BA in the event you are not offered a job. I know that you pay back your training with you salary if you work for them and also understand if you leave then you have to pay it back. What happens if they have no employment for you when you leave training do they expect repayment straight away?

Thanks

Jonathan

[Rusty Cessna]

Its not the fact of having hours BA dont like, its as you say, having bad habits, if you can prove that your training has kept this to a minimum, it wont be a problem at all.

The way I am doing it is getting short written reports to justify the above from my instructor, also, I dont think any bad habbits will occur when training is done by the Royal Air Force!

Good luck to all!

[This message has been edited by Rusty Cessna (edited 05 April 2001).]

[great expectations]

I have been accepted by BA and I have no flying hours whatsoever. On the other hand I had my reasons and I concentrated on other sides of the industry which is something obviously I had to prove. My best advice is if you have no flying experience, just make sure you know exactly why you have no flying experience. Grin. Good Luck.

[Pielander]

BBD

I actually got my PPL before I applied, but it wasn't for that reason. I just wanted to do it, and there were a couple of student loans beckoning me. I'm just going off what somebody else I met at my aptitudes had said. He had no flying experience and they told him that that was the main reason why his interview was unsuccessful. Note that I say interview here, because obviously if he was going to be binned automatcally, for having no experience, then he would not have been at the interview in the first place. They don't interview non-starters, and great expectations is testament to that. I just think it would give you one less weakness to worry about, because they love weaknesses, and you can bet that that's what they'll want to talk about. And as GE says, if you can put up a sound defence (as opposed to a shoddy defence!!), then you'll be fine.

Jonathang, I've been reliably informed by the now legendary "nice lady" that if they don't offer you a job after 18 months, then you will have just acquired the cheapest frozen ATPL ever. Of couse they might offer you a job as, say, a check-in clerk, and you might have to take it, but they also say that they won't force you to take a job unbecoming of you, and frankly, the only job becoming of a fully qualified pilot is a pilot. :) No, but seriously, I think it's very rare that they try and get their money back under any circumstances. I don't even know if this has ever happened.

Pie(lot(soon(hopefully)))

[UniformJuliet]

On the question of how much you are liable for...

£60k if you turn down a job offer within 36 months of completing the course.
If you leave BA within 5 years you get hit with a percentage of that (decreasing with each year).
But why would you want to leave BA??!!!

[Pielander]

UJ

You appear to know what you are talking about. Can you answer the question of what constitutes a 'job'? Say they didn't have any openings for pilot, but offered you a job as a trolley dolly, but you wanted to try and get a job as an instructor, or any type of commercial pilot (hypothetically) to stay current. - Would they stop you?

[Eagle 1]

Hi guys, I am 16 and very close to completing my GCSE's, I am hoping (just like an awful lot of people)to get a place on the BA cadet scheme, I was just wondering what grades your GCSE's and A-levels were (those of you who got in and got to the FB)
Thanx

:) Eagle 1 :)

[This message has been edited by Eagle 1 (edited 06 April 2001).]

[jlms]

Check Graeme's testimonial at http://www.britishairwaysjobs.com/cc/pilots/spts/graeme.jsp

"I began my training in 1991, but because of the Gulf War there were no jobs available when I qualified. I took a year out and then rejoined as a steward for two years, along with many of my colleagues."

[left outer, right inner]

And....?

What is the point you are making jlms?

Just wondering :)

LORI http://www.pprune.org/ubb/NonCGI/eek.gif

[left outer, right inner]

Oh, I think I know now sorry jlms :) :) :)

A silly, and didn't properly read the whole thread,

LORI hehe

[Lucifer]

Loads of guys went out to Cathay as cruise pilots while waiting to be offered a job. It's rubbish that they'll make you do another job.

[left outer, right inner]

Hello everybody!

Just wondering whether anyone who attended the FB recently has heard yet?

Grace, Token Bird etc etc

LORI http://www.pprune.org/ubb/NonCGI/eek.gif

[Token Bird]

LORI,

Be patient, boy. I will let you know as soon as I hear!

TB

[grace]

No LORI i still don't know yet
Its been 9 days and counting, the suspense is killing me
Don't worry i'll be striaght on here to tell you when i find out

grace

patience is a virtue (but not one of mine)