British Airways Future Pilot Programme.
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Sorry to confuse @smatticus - I wasn't referring to this weekend coming, I'm not sure what that event is about but I haven't heard from BA or APL yet either, I'm assuming it could be another couple of weeks after reading last year's thread. I only raised the question about the family day as I had family asking about how many people could come (quite glad it's so few invites allowed to be honest). Judging from previous blogs, I'm assuming the family day will be some time in September before we leave.
Join Date: Dec 2010
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Our Family Day was literally a week before we flew out to Spain. It was the first time we had all met each other since the assessment days (a good five months or so earlier). It's a really fun day! Enjoy. 
Join Date: Dec 2011
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Presently keeping myself very busy with revision for the OU exams I have this/next week (definitely a good call going with the OU rather than back to brick uni, as I can now put my remaining modules on hold for the FPP training). Apologies for the resulting radio silence on PM replies; I will get to those shortly...
Is anyone else still taking it all in? I find it a strange that we have made it through the process, yet now all has gone quiet and life is back to "normal". I am very aware that at some point soon I will receive an email that will upset all that though and cannot wait to get started
Have already told my Dad that he'll get a go on the sim well before I ever will!
Passing time whilst waiting, I've got my Class 1 Medical renewal on Thursday (did my initial on Gatwick before I started flying to pre-empt any issues - report on what it involves here for anyone curious). Also looking forward to a nice break in two weeks to go touring the Concordes of Europe
Conscious of straying off-topic so will stop there - looking forward to meeting you all at a family day soon!
Is anyone else still taking it all in? I find it a strange that we have made it through the process, yet now all has gone quiet and life is back to "normal". I am very aware that at some point soon I will receive an email that will upset all that though and cannot wait to get started
Have already told my Dad that he'll get a go on the sim well before I ever will!Passing time whilst waiting, I've got my Class 1 Medical renewal on Thursday (did my initial on Gatwick before I started flying to pre-empt any issues - report on what it involves here for anyone curious). Also looking forward to a nice break in two weeks to go touring the Concordes of Europe
Conscious of straying off-topic so will stop there - looking forward to meeting you all at a family day soon!
Last edited by JDA2012; 9th Jun 2015 at 21:02.
Join Date: Apr 2013
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Fair enough, thank you all for clarifying.
Got my medical next week, hopefully should run smoothly. Out of curiosity could anyone who is already on the course (G-F0RC3 etc) tell me when BA are likely to process our five year background references/background checking? Is it usually before we start our course or could it also be during training? I haven't actually provided a complete set of references yet (the BA Careers page shows the list of references which I supplied last year, which doesn't reflect what I have done in the past 12-14 months) and when I asked the BA recruitment centre about this they told me that we would be asked to provide them at a later date than we did last year (was asked to submit them before I attended the final interview that time).
P.S. Loving the idea of the Concorde tour JDA2012, do let us know how that goes
Got my medical next week, hopefully should run smoothly. Out of curiosity could anyone who is already on the course (G-F0RC3 etc) tell me when BA are likely to process our five year background references/background checking? Is it usually before we start our course or could it also be during training? I haven't actually provided a complete set of references yet (the BA Careers page shows the list of references which I supplied last year, which doesn't reflect what I have done in the past 12-14 months) and when I asked the BA recruitment centre about this they told me that we would be asked to provide them at a later date than we did last year (was asked to submit them before I attended the final interview that time).
P.S. Loving the idea of the Concorde tour JDA2012, do let us know how that goes
Join Date: Mar 2015
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There was an update from ctc in my junk folder this morning for those successful - just as a heads up; there are no dates or anything involved, just a quick update on admin progress.
Join Date: Dec 2010
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smatticus; the checking process is completed before you start but is initiated quite soon after you get all the paperwork through the door. The reason being is that it's actually quite an involved process and takes some time. Apparently they carry out the process again after you graduate from flying school before you start with BA. When we did it it was all done via an online system by a specialist company on BA's behalf.
Hope it's helpful.
Hope it's helpful.
Join Date: Dec 2011
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Further to Ryan's comment, I received the same email (from CTC, who are co-ordinating - my FTO is OAA).
If anyone has not seen it, I would recommend checking your spam/junk folders, as it contains useful information as well as a request to advise CTC of any "problem" dates for you and to send certain personal information for admin purposes.
smatticus - very much looking forward to it myself. I've seen all of the UK Concordes (except the Filton - pending exhibit - and Brooklands - saving for last - birds) and the East Coast USA / Barbados ones, so have had this tour of the French/German locations planned out for a while now. Seattle will be a toughie - may have to jumpseat a long-haul flight to get to that one, or nip up from AZ...
I could actually do with saving the money now I'm "in", but hotels and such are already paid up, so it would cost almost as much not to go! We could also do with the break - it's been a tough few months...
If anyone has not seen it, I would recommend checking your spam/junk folders, as it contains useful information as well as a request to advise CTC of any "problem" dates for you and to send certain personal information for admin purposes.
smatticus - very much looking forward to it myself. I've seen all of the UK Concordes (except the Filton - pending exhibit - and Brooklands - saving for last - birds) and the East Coast USA / Barbados ones, so have had this tour of the French/German locations planned out for a while now. Seattle will be a toughie - may have to jumpseat a long-haul flight to get to that one, or nip up from AZ...
I could actually do with saving the money now I'm "in", but hotels and such are already paid up, so it would cost almost as much not to go! We could also do with the break - it's been a tough few months...
Join Date: Aug 2007
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No, I haven't heard anything from CTC yet (my chosen FTO) aside from an e mail regarding the takeover. I'm not too worried though, having worked in training management, I know how long these things can take!
Join Date: Aug 2007
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Also, feel free to e mail with your real name and I will add you, as I understand it, I have to add you as a friend then add to group. There is not a facility to add via e mail, not on the I pad at least. I will not make your real names known on this forum so you can maintain anonymity but the Facebook site will be under real names.
Join Date: Jun 2015
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BA FPP beyond 2016.
What is the likelihood of BA FPP going beyond 2016/any insider or informed opinion/info?
I'm in my final year for Uni (CTC interview in '13, reached final stage back in '14, didn't have a go at it in '15 for studies sake) and the BA FPP ends up slap bang in the middle of preparing for finals (final stage is only a couple of weeks before exam season). Alongside that there is graduate applications so having the FPP on top of that is...well, utterly brutal.
I know the FPP was scheduled for 5 years initially, running from '11-'16, is a 2017 BA FPP a stretch? Will BA fill in the numbers with cadets from CTC as opposed to opening up the scheme another year?
Graduate applications + Final year studies, utterly crucial + would be beneficial having a year's worth of work experience under my belt (final try for BA) but at the same time it's a risk expecting it to continue on.
I'm in my final year for Uni (CTC interview in '13, reached final stage back in '14, didn't have a go at it in '15 for studies sake) and the BA FPP ends up slap bang in the middle of preparing for finals (final stage is only a couple of weeks before exam season). Alongside that there is graduate applications so having the FPP on top of that is...well, utterly brutal.
I know the FPP was scheduled for 5 years initially, running from '11-'16, is a 2017 BA FPP a stretch? Will BA fill in the numbers with cadets from CTC as opposed to opening up the scheme another year?
Graduate applications + Final year studies, utterly crucial + would be beneficial having a year's worth of work experience under my belt (final try for BA) but at the same time it's a risk expecting it to continue on.
Join Date: Jun 2015
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Will BA Future Pilot reopen for applications?
Hi just wondering if anyone knows if BA will open applications once more for their future pilot scheme in the next few years?
I am just about to finish my A levels and it seems that I won't be able to self sponsor myself through training. Current plan is to study for a physics degree at Sussex university with the aim of applying to this scheme once completed. If the scheme doesn't reopen then once I finish uni I will have less funding for training and will probably have to take a different career
Thank you in advance
I am just about to finish my A levels and it seems that I won't be able to self sponsor myself through training. Current plan is to study for a physics degree at Sussex university with the aim of applying to this scheme once completed. If the scheme doesn't reopen then once I finish uni I will have less funding for training and will probably have to take a different career
Thank you in advance
Join Date: Dec 2011
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A few things...
I'm not on Facebook at the moment, but can soon set something up if we're congregating there. Thanks Amy for setting that up
Class 1 Medical renewed today, no problems - very few hurdles left to go now... I can thoroughly recommend Dr Byrne of Skymed at Manchester Airport (and I think also Liverpool) for anyone in the neighbourhood.
DutchC/Nuttynat - the below is based on my own research and I cannot guarantee absolute accuracy, nor is this intended to represent an official view on how BA operate. I hope one of those already at BA will be able to correct any grievous errors I may have made. That said...
This is the fourth FPP intake. The original intention was to recruit 400 FPP cadets (plus 400 via DEP) over a four year period. The number of places offered this year appears to be 72 (thank you wise benefactor), meaning an 85% success rate at interview this year, which we can add to the (I believe) 95, 72 and 48 taken in previous years (2011-12/2012-13/2013-14 - very few CTC cadets taken to fill in the numbers in the final one of those years).
This implies that BA would still like to recruit an additional ~112 FPP candidates, assuming that their initial targets remain unchanged. The retirement age for pilots was raised from 55 to 65 in 2006, so there would have been a lull in retirements from 2006-2015 but with that standing to increase back to former levels as of next year.
This in turn suggests that the programme may run in further years after 2016, but I certainly wouldn't rely on that at this point in time - in fact I would recommend to anyone interested that they apply as soon as possible. BA is a seniority-based organisation and as such it is in your own best interests to get on the bottom rung of the ladder on the earliest date you can. A matter of months may ultimately make the difference between getting that long-haul seat or command course one day...
One further thought. The target this year was 100 and this has certainly not been met; this is typical for the FPP. BA require a certain standard, and it simply comes down to meeting this standard in the end. It is easy to play games with numbers, but don't be tempted down this path. Strive to meet the standard, and put everything else out of your mind. Good luck!
I'm not on Facebook at the moment, but can soon set something up if we're congregating there. Thanks Amy for setting that up
Class 1 Medical renewed today, no problems - very few hurdles left to go now... I can thoroughly recommend Dr Byrne of Skymed at Manchester Airport (and I think also Liverpool) for anyone in the neighbourhood.
DutchC/Nuttynat - the below is based on my own research and I cannot guarantee absolute accuracy, nor is this intended to represent an official view on how BA operate. I hope one of those already at BA will be able to correct any grievous errors I may have made. That said...
This is the fourth FPP intake. The original intention was to recruit 400 FPP cadets (plus 400 via DEP) over a four year period. The number of places offered this year appears to be 72 (thank you wise benefactor
), meaning an 85% success rate at interview this year, which we can add to the (I believe) 95, 72 and 48 taken in previous years (2011-12/2012-13/2013-14 - very few CTC cadets taken to fill in the numbers in the final one of those years).This implies that BA would still like to recruit an additional ~112 FPP candidates, assuming that their initial targets remain unchanged. The retirement age for pilots was raised from 55 to 65 in 2006, so there would have been a lull in retirements from 2006-2015 but with that standing to increase back to former levels as of next year.
This in turn suggests that the programme may run in further years after 2016, but I certainly wouldn't rely on that at this point in time - in fact I would recommend to anyone interested that they apply as soon as possible. BA is a seniority-based organisation and as such it is in your own best interests to get on the bottom rung of the ladder on the earliest date you can. A matter of months may ultimately make the difference between getting that long-haul seat or command course one day...
One further thought. The target this year was 100 and this has certainly not been met; this is typical for the FPP. BA require a certain standard, and it simply comes down to meeting this standard in the end. It is easy to play games with numbers, but don't be tempted down this path. Strive to meet the standard, and put everything else out of your mind. Good luck!
Last edited by JDA2012; 13th Nov 2015 at 21:22. Reason: Corrected some info - thanks chaps
Join Date: Jun 2015
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Thanks a bunch, really informative post (and absolutely congrats to you, I remember reading your post before the process started about what you've done (visited the Concordes + Flight sim and how you were prepped, well done, monster effort! 
- also a shout to the guy who was didn't make it through EasyJet, Virgin and the BA FPP his first two times, immense never say die attitude)
From this (2nd page):
http://issuu.com/ctcaviationltd/docs...115604/7609840
"Launched in 2012, the pioneering British Airways Future Pilot Programme (FPP) will enable up to 500 aspiring airline pilots (over five years)..."
Saying that though, it was launched in 2011, with 400 pilots over 5 years.
I'd absolutely love to give it one last shot, I know that I'd have a fairly good shot at it but with graduation and graduate applications it's a bummer.
- also a shout to the guy who was didn't make it through EasyJet, Virgin and the BA FPP his first two times, immense never say die attitude)From this (2nd page):
http://issuu.com/ctcaviationltd/docs...115604/7609840
"Launched in 2012, the pioneering British Airways Future Pilot Programme (FPP) will enable up to 500 aspiring airline pilots (over five years)..."
Saying that though, it was launched in 2011, with 400 pilots over 5 years.
I'd absolutely love to give it one last shot, I know that I'd have a fairly good shot at it but with graduation and graduate applications it's a bummer.