British Airways
I originally posted this as a reply on another forum but this is a brief account of a recent BA Sim I flew for a DEP postion.
Sim Test was on the 747-400. The sim was run by a Captain and SFO although not in our case from the 747 Fleet. In general the conduct was very friendly and straightforward. It was up to us as which seats we occupied for PF or PNF roles.
Briefing - Covered basic aircraft systems, radios, navaids and autopilot use (not A/T). The brief also covered what was and was not being assessed (landing etc). Issued jetplans, weather & approach plates for the first leg;we were then allowed about 15 mins to plan the sortie choosing suitable divs etc.
Before each leg the respective PF was given an unassessed take-off, approach and landing prior to the Test.
Profile - Brussels to Heathrow (for me as PNF) followed by a break during which we received the next leg details which was Heathrow to Stansted as PF. We were expected to follow the relevent SID & STAR with of course timely interjections by ATC. We did not get a diversion on either leg. We had a few questions such as being asked to calculate ETAs etc.
At the end, we asked to debrief ourselves on the good and bad points. All in all the test took about 6 hours including briefs, breaks & chat.
Hope that helps.
Good Luck
Cheers
Sim Test was on the 747-400. The sim was run by a Captain and SFO although not in our case from the 747 Fleet. In general the conduct was very friendly and straightforward. It was up to us as which seats we occupied for PF or PNF roles.
Briefing - Covered basic aircraft systems, radios, navaids and autopilot use (not A/T). The brief also covered what was and was not being assessed (landing etc). Issued jetplans, weather & approach plates for the first leg;we were then allowed about 15 mins to plan the sortie choosing suitable divs etc.
Before each leg the respective PF was given an unassessed take-off, approach and landing prior to the Test.
Profile - Brussels to Heathrow (for me as PNF) followed by a break during which we received the next leg details which was Heathrow to Stansted as PF. We were expected to follow the relevent SID & STAR with of course timely interjections by ATC. We did not get a diversion on either leg. We had a few questions such as being asked to calculate ETAs etc.
At the end, we asked to debrief ourselves on the good and bad points. All in all the test took about 6 hours including briefs, breaks & chat.
Hope that helps.
Good Luck
Cheers
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British Airways pilots
Hi,
I'm currently working on getting my private pilot's license and I really want to fly for BA. I was wondering what the pilot requirements are. Thanks for all the help.
I'm currently working on getting my private pilot's license and I really want to fly for BA. I was wondering what the pilot requirements are. Thanks for all the help.
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As a low hour pilot, you would have to achieve over 85% in ground school exams etc and then get recommended by one of their approved flight training organisations. Otherwise you could apply as a direct entry pilot, where you would have experience in the commercial world. Those requirements are on their site (i think only when vacancies become available), these may change from time to time. Happy flying.
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Try this link http://www.britishairwaysjobs.com/baweb1/?newms=info10
I believe that you will also need the right to live and work in the UK - I note that you are from Texas.
I believe that you will also need the right to live and work in the UK - I note that you are from Texas.
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British Airways Sponsorship Rumours
Hi everyone,
Like everyone else looking to start a career in aviation, I was peeved when I heard that BA had stopped their cadet sponsorship program. I have also read the numerous messages that say the "why would BA start the scheme again when they are getting enough pilots that self-sponsor now?", and yes I totally agree that it wouldn't make sense.
However, I have a friend at Uni whose mother is an air hostess for BA, and her pilot friends have been suggesting that the management at BA think the quality of pilots aren't as good as the BA scheme used to churn out (I know they are from the same flight schools, and no disrespect intended), but more importantly the shortage of pilots coupled with the apparent poor quality has lead to a rumour that BA may start the cadet scheme again in the next couple of years.
Has anyone got any info on this, or am I just clutching at straws?
Thanks
Like everyone else looking to start a career in aviation, I was peeved when I heard that BA had stopped their cadet sponsorship program. I have also read the numerous messages that say the "why would BA start the scheme again when they are getting enough pilots that self-sponsor now?", and yes I totally agree that it wouldn't make sense.
However, I have a friend at Uni whose mother is an air hostess for BA, and her pilot friends have been suggesting that the management at BA think the quality of pilots aren't as good as the BA scheme used to churn out (I know they are from the same flight schools, and no disrespect intended), but more importantly the shortage of pilots coupled with the apparent poor quality has lead to a rumour that BA may start the cadet scheme again in the next couple of years.
Has anyone got any info on this, or am I just clutching at straws?
Thanks
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You never could turn out to be right but the odds of getting a sponsorship is abit bleak i have looked into sponsorship and seen its very competitive and there is a hell of a lot of people up against you.
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Line Manager:
Hello Mr CFO of BA, i would like to start a sponsorship scheme for cadet pilots. Like the one we used to run pre - 9/11.
CFO:
I understand we have a SSP in place that takes recruits from a number of integrated schools. Whats wrong with that?
Line Manager:
Nothing much but i dont feel its delivering quality pilots.
CFO:
Whats the cost likely to be?
Line Manager:
65k per cadet
CFO:
So at the moment we have lots of people paying their own way and basically you want us to pay for them instead?
Line Manager:
Yes
CFO:
What school would you send them to?
Line Manager:
One of the ones we recruit from now.
CFO:
Get the **** out of my office.....
Notepad:
Recommend firing Line Manager
Hello Mr CFO of BA, i would like to start a sponsorship scheme for cadet pilots. Like the one we used to run pre - 9/11.
CFO:
I understand we have a SSP in place that takes recruits from a number of integrated schools. Whats wrong with that?
Line Manager:
Nothing much but i dont feel its delivering quality pilots.
CFO:
Whats the cost likely to be?
Line Manager:
65k per cadet
CFO:
So at the moment we have lots of people paying their own way and basically you want us to pay for them instead?
Line Manager:
Yes
CFO:
What school would you send them to?
Line Manager:
One of the ones we recruit from now.
CFO:
Get the **** out of my office.....
Notepad:
Recommend firing Line Manager
Last edited by rogueflyer01; 28th Oct 2006 at 16:14.
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JayB,
If this is the case, then my guess is that it will be tied in the with up and comming MPL. Given BA's large sim infrastructure it would seem natural that they send the cadets to Oxford/Cabair/FTE/BGS/etc for the theory and 70 hours of real aeroplane antics and then take the simulator based training in-house.
If this is the case, then my guess is that it will be tied in the with up and comming MPL. Given BA's large sim infrastructure it would seem natural that they send the cadets to Oxford/Cabair/FTE/BGS/etc for the theory and 70 hours of real aeroplane antics and then take the simulator based training in-house.
I seriously doubt that an old style BA Cadetship scheme will return. For those unaware you used to be able to fill out an application, be called for an interview and some tests (travel expenses reimbursed and a free lunch) and then if chosen be sent to a large school for 13 months where you paid for nothing, wore a shiny uniform and got paid beer money each week. If you managed not to fail too many bits they started you on a jet at Heathrow or Gatwick and got you to sign a final salary pension agreement as well. I know it sounds like I am making it up but thats how things used to be - honest.
They MIGHT introduce a new sponsorship scheme where they get to do the selection again in return for a partial sponsorship and a bond. I wouldn't see why they'd need to though. They can have the pick of all that graduate from the Integrated course merely by pulling into the car park and announcing with a load hailer that the man from BA recruitment is here.
The only thing a sponorship would achieve for them is that they might attract some applicants who otherwise did not intend to undertake training. This is the silly sort of thing large companies like BA do as the HR department has enough clout to force them to hire a diverse range of people as pilots. This is 'a good thing' in the view of the HR department. The result that you recruit some people to be pilots who would rather have been doctors or fund managers means nothing to the HR department.
So for Joe Wannabe the truth is that if BA were to bring in a sponsorship scheme again in all likelihood all it would do is to bring more (usually high calibre) people into the market for the job you covet so much.
Its more in your interest to peddle the myth that ALL training to become a pilot costs £80,000 and is very hard and you can't get a job unless you know someone in an airline. At least it discourages the merely curious.
Good luck,
WWW
They MIGHT introduce a new sponsorship scheme where they get to do the selection again in return for a partial sponsorship and a bond. I wouldn't see why they'd need to though. They can have the pick of all that graduate from the Integrated course merely by pulling into the car park and announcing with a load hailer that the man from BA recruitment is here.
The only thing a sponorship would achieve for them is that they might attract some applicants who otherwise did not intend to undertake training. This is the silly sort of thing large companies like BA do as the HR department has enough clout to force them to hire a diverse range of people as pilots. This is 'a good thing' in the view of the HR department. The result that you recruit some people to be pilots who would rather have been doctors or fund managers means nothing to the HR department.
So for Joe Wannabe the truth is that if BA were to bring in a sponsorship scheme again in all likelihood all it would do is to bring more (usually high calibre) people into the market for the job you covet so much.
Its more in your interest to peddle the myth that ALL training to become a pilot costs £80,000 and is very hard and you can't get a job unless you know someone in an airline. At least it discourages the merely curious.
Good luck,
WWW
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flyboy,
Suggest you read this, MPL adoption by the JAA is already well under way: http://www.raes-fsg.org.uk/PDF/P5_Woods.ppt
It is interesting that some are interpreting the "Type rating gained withing an airline environment" as effectively meaning that the type rating will, for all practical considerations, tied to the sponsoring airline! Not just that, but it seems that Lufthansa, who pushed so hard for the MPL have now lost interest in it and have no future plans that include it: Source: http://www.gapan.org/tech.htm
Sorry if this looks like another MPL thread, but surely any assessment of sponsorship is dependant on its progress (or lack thereof).
Suggest you read this, MPL adoption by the JAA is already well under way: http://www.raes-fsg.org.uk/PDF/P5_Woods.ppt
It is interesting that some are interpreting the "Type rating gained withing an airline environment" as effectively meaning that the type rating will, for all practical considerations, tied to the sponsoring airline! Not just that, but it seems that Lufthansa, who pushed so hard for the MPL have now lost interest in it and have no future plans that include it: Source: http://www.gapan.org/tech.htm
Sorry if this looks like another MPL thread, but surely any assessment of sponsorship is dependant on its progress (or lack thereof).
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Rogueflyer01
Very funny.
But I would'nt put it past any of them to come out with such a scheme. I mean, it makes perfect sense to sponsor pilots when there are so many of us out there without a job.
Sorry, I am just reflecting what everyone else is saying.
Good luck everyone
But I would'nt put it past any of them to come out with such a scheme. I mean, it makes perfect sense to sponsor pilots when there are so many of us out there without a job.
Sorry, I am just reflecting what everyone else is saying.
Good luck everyone
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The only thing a sponorship would achieve for them is that they might attract some applicants who otherwise did not intend to undertake training. This is the silly sort of thing large companies like BA do as the HR department has enough clout to force them to hire a diverse range of people as pilots. This is 'a good thing' in the view of the HR department. The result that you recruit some people to be pilots who would rather have been doctors or fund managers means nothing to the HR department.
I simply can't stand being in debt, so I will never take 60 grand loan in the name of a "sponsorship" the likes of the current ones where you pay for everything.
But for a real sponsorship you can be sure there would be plenty of skilled and motivated people prepared to fight for a place !
Would that raise the profiles of the cadets ? I think it would.
h-h
high-hopes, Whilst a sponsorship would allow you to perhaps become a commercial pilot, with skill and motivation, there is no shortage of these at the moment. They clearly have more motivation than you because they are willing to take on high debt levels. I flew with an FO this month who is a cool £82,000 in the red. But he's in a 737-700 in his early 20's with the ability to be a Captain well before his 30th birthday. He then has 30 years of earning near £100k and will in future decades laugh at the piffling debt he used to be in. I don't see why or how "raising the profile" of cadets is in any way important.
Studi - there isn't, wasn't and never will be a shortage of people with a commercial pilots license and no experience or type rating. The cup runneth over with talented people who are failed commercial pilots. They were unlucky and not in the right place at the right time and unless you get lucky in just a few short years the real world intrudes and you have to do something else in order to pay off your debt and/or get back to paying the mortgage and feeding the kids.
People. There are dozens and dozens and dozens and dozens of cadets coming through the likes of CTC who are personable, have decent degrees from good universities and who are extremely switched on. I've seen loads of them and they are all in extreme debt. There are more following. BA could snap them up tomorrow and more importantly they have been doing so for the last 2 years at least.
There have been CTC cadets by the dozen joining easyJet for a year, 6 months, even a few weeks in some cases before being accepted into BA. These people are all below 30, have type ratings on a NG Boeing or Airbus and have impressive CV's. They are therefore BETTER than the old cadets were because some of those used to fail type training or line training. And instead of costing £80k each plus selection costs and a team of people managing the sponsorship scheme these people cost BA not a sausage. Why would they go back to a more expensive way of taking more training risk?
But stranger things have happened.
WWW
Studi - there isn't, wasn't and never will be a shortage of people with a commercial pilots license and no experience or type rating. The cup runneth over with talented people who are failed commercial pilots. They were unlucky and not in the right place at the right time and unless you get lucky in just a few short years the real world intrudes and you have to do something else in order to pay off your debt and/or get back to paying the mortgage and feeding the kids.
People. There are dozens and dozens and dozens and dozens of cadets coming through the likes of CTC who are personable, have decent degrees from good universities and who are extremely switched on. I've seen loads of them and they are all in extreme debt. There are more following. BA could snap them up tomorrow and more importantly they have been doing so for the last 2 years at least.
There have been CTC cadets by the dozen joining easyJet for a year, 6 months, even a few weeks in some cases before being accepted into BA. These people are all below 30, have type ratings on a NG Boeing or Airbus and have impressive CV's. They are therefore BETTER than the old cadets were because some of those used to fail type training or line training. And instead of costing £80k each plus selection costs and a team of people managing the sponsorship scheme these people cost BA not a sausage. Why would they go back to a more expensive way of taking more training risk?
But stranger things have happened.
WWW
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"I have a friend at Uni whose mother is an air hostess for BA, and her pilot friends...."
Mate, i'm sorry to dash your, and a lot of other hopes, but its not going to happen.
As long as they can get good pilots from integrated schools, why bother going anywhere else. The training Captains I have flown with recently have actually said some of the low hour guys coming through at the moment are the best they have seen, because they are being selected AFTER training rather than before and have therefore proved themselves throughout the courses instead of being picked because they have a masters degree in rocket science.
Please don't shoot the messenger.
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high-hopes, Whilst a sponsorship would allow you to perhaps become a commercial pilot, with skill and motivation, there is no shortage of these at the moment. They clearly have more motivation than you because they are willing to take on high debt levels. I flew with an FO this month who is a cool £82,000 in the red. But he's in a 737-700 in his early 20's with the ability to be a Captain well before his 30th birthday. He then has 30 years of earning near £100k and will in future decades laugh at the piffling debt he used to be in. I don't see why or how "raising the profile" of cadets is in any way important.
If you measure motivation with how much debt you're prepared to take, well let me disagree with you.
Probably true, what separates wannabes from pro's is the financial commitment (especially in this age and time), but in my case, where I have a great job and an interesting life outside work (also thanks to the flying I do at my own expenses) why would I want to chuck it all to get 82k in the red ? A 737-700 is a great place to work, and so would be a KingAir or a Caravan, but who says that there aren't other ways to get there without knocking on the bank's manager door ?
I have my own reasons so please think again before you comment on other people's motivations. Ta !
h-h