CTC holdpool (ATPers)
 

Could all 18 of you in the pool tell me if there's any news re the likelyhood of starting a TR in the near future. I don't have my AQC till Dec this year and don't know who, if any, of the major airlines will be recruiting come Jan 2007 (if i'm sucessful of course).

Oh and by the way, I asked CTC for their pre-study pack, but it appears to have been done away with! Does this make the AQC easier or harder?

Answers on a postcard pleeease!!!

T:suspect:

No news here :sad:

It's just a waiting game, one day the phone call will come. :ok:

Remember that the winter is a busy time for airlines as they like to train new pilots and get them on line for the summer program. AFAIK August and September are always quiet months for training.

If I was you I wouldn't be worried about who is going to be recruiting in January, if you get through the AQC at least you’ll know that a TR is not that far away.

I never received any pre course study material. Once I found out which aircraft I was on I learnt as much as I could about operating that type (CBT's, FS Add Ons, ITVV videos). CTC will probably be able to tell you which aircraft you are on 2 to 3 weeks before your course.

SW

easyJet are advertising in the back of Flight International this week for Training Captains for their Airbus and Boeing fleets, presumably to start the backlog of type-rated, but not yet line-trained, FO's :}

Perhaps this will help to empty the hool pool somewhat.

Cheers

The big question is whether Easy can get the line trainers though. Just because they are after guys does not mean that they'll find them. I'd say that's what is going to determine the length of holding time. Meanwhile CTC, continue to recruit guys for the pool and cadets are steadily coming through. I'm sure that everyone in the pool will get in, but it sounds like it could be a while.

Perhaps someone from CTC can answer this question for me, or at least someone who’s reliably informed.

Are CTC actually still currently providing cadets and ATP’s to their other “partner airlines”?

Are they in a situation now whereby they are running monthly AQC’s as a means of generation turnover without there necessarily been a demand?

Any CTC guys who have now ended up working in ops, having given up their previous well paid jobs, are going to be suffering from a severe loss of earnings, based on the assumption that they are still going to only be paid their £1000.00 per month for six months only once their line training starts.

As opposed to a situation whereby they could have been called forward for a TR once EZY could logistically provide a smooth transition into line training, six months later moving onto full FO’s pay…

Bit of a worrying situation for us that are about to start the AQC and something I would just like to settle in my mind, or at least be able to gauge my expectations going forward?

Any positive feedback would be much appreciated!

Here's a radical thought:
Why don't you call them?
They're normally very helpfull, and if your in the hold pool I don't see what the problem would be in getting most of your questions asked.

Interesting Times
 

Come on now folks, I think that's a fair point Saffer. Had I parted with £6700 up front for an AQC in the near future, i'd be asking the exact same questions. Surely the fact that Thomas Cook, First Choice and Thomsonfly are running their own recruitment at the mo, should send alarm bells ringing to an extent. I know for a fact that as of this week, the holdpool is sitting in the mid-twenties, and with an AQC every 3 weeks, it won't be long before it reaches the magic 40 (the amount CTC always wanted to have, but never could, due to demand from the airlines).

I too will be paying particular attention over the next couple of months before the house gets re-mortgaged. And for those out there that think this thread is an excuse to have a pop at CTC, you couldn't be further from the truth. Having been in 3 other airlines holding pools, I found them to be the most professional and friendly of the lot. What I am questioning however, is wether they even know themselves who is going to be recruting and when. As i've always been told, a week is a loooong time in aviation, but what do I know is, the AQC still awaits me!!!!!

T:suspect:

Don't worry guys ezy are begging CTC for pilots, this summer has been somewhat problematic with hundreds of cancelled flights due to a chronic crew shortage and lots of subchartering has taken place to try to limit the damage to the schedule. A lack of trainers isn't helping and the continual introduction of the 319 across the network is a further stretch on resources as crews head off to do conversion courses.

Training is still going on at full pace according to the training captains at my base, there were a couple of guys heading off to do some line training in the crew room this morning! If you are short on cash, HSBC are usually happy to throw a 5 grand loan at you if you tell them "CTC sent you". Not ideal I know just a suggestion if you haven't already thought about it.

Good luck with it all.

I am down for a forthcoming AQC and have been thinking about this hold pool getting larger, and about the likely lag time before entering TR. And also with who? There has been a lot of easyjet mentioned, but what of Monarch, Thomsonfly, TC, and First Choice?

Think I shall have to budget for renewing my IR as well. Encouraging to hear from a previous poster that Airlines like to do their training in the winter.

Will follow with interest.

LF

CTC Hold pool
 

will also be following this thread with great interest, hope to hear some positive news very soon now, sat with my fingers legs arms and everything else crossed ...:O :O :O :O

I've just started my type-rating with easyJet three months after finishing the AQC. Some guys started about a month after finishing but the majority have had to wait until now. As I understand it, this is due to the lack of training captains available for line training which, as mentioned above, is problematic to this summer.

I haven't heard of CTC people working in the Ops Dept. I think this is because we are 'employed' by CTC for 6 months after the type rating (not at the start of line training), so from easy's point of view we cost them nothing. However, this leads to us being bottom of the queue when it comes to line training as TRSS and DE pilots get paid from day one. In theory, we could sit around for 5 months and then be line trained before we cost easyJet anything, which explains why it can currently take several months to complete.

With one new aircraft a week, easyJet are crying out for pilots. On the easy induction day, we saw a welcome schedule which showed several pilot intakes a month. Not all of these are CTC, and Wings Cadets would take priority, but figures of 400 pilots a year are being bandied around, so everyone in the holding pool will eventually make it.

As for CTC and its relationship with partner airlines, I haven't heard of AQCers going anywhere other than easyJet (recently). I was offered a place on a jet2 course, but this was rather irregular, and was eventually filled internally by jet2.

Do the AQC as soon as you can. You at least know then whether you make the grade, and you are in the system. Just plan to be waiting for a good couple of months; plan on getting a job which you can leave with minimal notice; plan on having to renew your IR and medical....plan on being patient!

It's certainly true that the Ezy Training Captains are being utilised to the max at the moment. I'm guessing that they are trying to put through more experienced pilots (TRSS & D/E) as they need less line training sectors (about 1/4 of the sectors that CTC Cadets need), therefore upping the pilot quota quicker & more efficiently.

For Wings ATP people, I have heard two different things....from one friend that most of us will end up at easyjet, and from another, that its quite likely we will be placed with Jet2, Monarch, First Choice, Thomson, or TC!

I have also heard that CTC expect their hold pool to be back near empty by around January since the winter is when a lot of the charter companies do their training.

Does anyone have any idea if there is a policy on it? Or is it more a case of the first airline coming along needing x amount of people, and they come from both Cadet and ATP sources?

Thanks

LF

Hi all,Just a quick one what is financial set up whilst your are under(tr) training,i read CTC will provide an income of sort`s?Got a house,wife and baby to support.

pipertommy,

The deal is (at least for those going to EZY) that during the type rating you will receive £500 (to last nearly 2 months(!)), then for 6 months thereafter £1000 per month, after that the decision is made whether to give you a permanent contract or not. Recently EZY cadets have been given night stop allowances and holiday (neither of which they had before).

Cheers,

FT

Not to bad,Last one if you don`t mind,how long is the TR?Couple of months?

The TR is 6 weeks, 3 weeks technical ground school with 3 progress tests and a final written paper, then 3 weeks flying in the sim. That's for the airbus rating anyway, I'm sure the Boeing conversion courses are similar. This does not include base training. There's normaly always a wait between finishing the conversion course and the base training.

Probably worth mentioning that the Boeing type rating is a tad longer than the airbus, mainly due to the 300/700 differences course.

This is true, however if you end up at Easy I'm led to believe that from september you'll only be typed on the 700. If you're on the boeing fleet of course.

Thanks!So you will be on £500/month from TR training until you start the base training.So looking about 3 months-ish:ouch:

Are they still training CTC people on the Boeing? I thought all new joins would be going to the Airbus A319?

LF

pipertommy,

Not quite - the £500 is a one-off payment to cover the WHOLE type rating - the first £1000 will come 2 months after the start of the type whether you've started line training by then or not (at least that's how it worked with me).

Anyone got any up-to-date numbers of people in the hold pool?? Is it moving at all?

In general have easyjet more or less stopped training until they sort out their training capacity?

Cheers

I think it is approximately 30.

I don't know how quickly it's emptying but at the start of our AQC they said that they had been in consultation with the airlines and that it looked like a good time to be in the pool.

I think what he meant was that it was forecast to empty quickly!

Just a quick question, what does everyone do with their time after finishing the AQC course and then going in to the hold pool awaiting selection from an airline? Are pilots doing their Type Rating or extra study? Maybe I'm being naive and there isn't enough time to do everything as it is and it all flows from one to the next.

Cheers,

FDD

Sitting around, twiddling my thumbs and spending toooooo much time on Pprune!

There is nothing to do really between AQC and getting hauled out of the hold pool. If I knew which aircraft I’m going to be type rated on I'd start studying the type, however I don't and I think I'd confuse myself if I tried learning about the 737, 757 and A320 :ugh:

I do take a PA28 or a C172 out for a spin every few weeks but apart from that I do nothing else aviation related.

It's very difficult to get work because you have no idea of when the call will come. I'm a contract railway engineer and I have picked up little bits of work to keep the money coming in, however most of the work available is either a long term contract or it's for work starting a month or two down the road, neither of which I can accept.

That said, work is picking up for me now which probably means I'll get a call from CTC asking me to start. :bored:

I would recommend trying to get yourself some work which you can quickly drop as you have no idea how long you'll be in the hold pool for. For me it will be 3 months by 11th Sept and no sign of being hauled out yet.

Of course, things can change very quickly and it could go back to the way it was in April of this year. I've been told that the guys who passed the April AQC finished on the Friday, had a phone call on the Saturday, went to Luton on the Monday to sign Easyjet contracts and started the type rating on the Wednesday.


SW

To anyone who has done the AQC.

Is there any preperation that you could advise to do prior to the AQC? Is it nearly always carried out on the 737 and if it is which series? Got mine in a couple of months looking forward to progressing with the flying career again after a long period of limbo.

All the best,

Mooneyboy:ok:

stage 3 ctc
 

Hi everyone,

I've got stage 3 ctc coming up in a couple of weeks and wondered if anyone could give me any info on the interview and group exercises please? Are there any technical quesions or is it more to do with competency based questions? Also, do you know of anyone failing the AQC? What would you all say the % of people who pass AQC is? If you fail the AQC have you just lost £6500 or can you get any money back? Is it true that CTC pay you £2000 back after the 8 month contract? I will also be asking CTC these questions this week but also wanted to get other peoples opinions on this. If I pass stage 3 then I'll have a tough decision to make whether I should try and get the £6500 and risk failing the AQC or whether it isn't too much of a risk and just go for it!! Also, having been to stage 2 last week the chief pilot said that you could expect to be in the holding pool no more than 3-5 weeks at the moment.

rgds

the aviator1977

Guys

There is an AQC thread which covers all of your questions. This thread is really to discuss the hold pool situation.

http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=94832

Perhaps the mods can move your posts.

But to answer your questions anyway

Mooneyboy

It seems they just split the group, some do it on the Airbus and others on the 737NG, there’s no telling which one you'll be on.

aviator1977

People do fail. It seems that 90% of people pass. I believe you get £2000 if you pass the AQC, pass the type rating and complete the line training. Why would they give you money back if you fail?

I guess the question of whether you risk the £6.5k depends how much you want to be an airline pilot. If you have plenty of job offers coming in then don't risk it.

The best advice I can give in way of preparation for the AQC is to make certain that your Instrument Flying Skills are 100% up to speed. If you have any doubts get some sim time on an FNPT2 (you don't need to practice in an expensive jet sim).

Anyway, take a look at the other thread.

SW

Aviator

3-5 weeks....! I think many people at CTC have very different ideas of how long we are likely to be in the holding pool. There are people who have been in there for nearly 4 months.

If 3-5 weeks was real then I would be flying now!

Don't get me wrong, I'm not ungrateful, I just wish we had a realistic estimate. If they said it would be at least 4 months, then I'd be very happy, but at the moment its hard to plan work commitments (bills still have to be paid).

I sent my application last week so I read this with interest.

In summary of how I understand it from what I have read above, in terms of financials and time line Assuming you are successful getting in.

Selected to attend the MCC/AQC
What is the current length of time from selection to AQC course?
Pay £6500ish prior to Attending the AQC
Three consecutive weeks doing the MCC/AQC
Complete AQC and selected to enter the holding pool, Someone mentioned a lump sum of £2k from CTC at this point? is this true.
Wait in holding pool for the majic phone call.
Phone call recieved and start TR. £500 from CTC to last you over the next six weeks during the TR course.
Completion of of the TR and £1000/month payments from CTC start for six months. Then provided there are no problems (like EZY have suffered from this year) straight into line training.
Do you get flight pay during line training or does this vary between airlines?

How are people financing themselves through the transition from AQC to end of line training

Many thanks for any answers/clarifications

mint

I understand 3 more are starting with EZY next Monday. That's everyone from the AQC that finished on 19th May. I guess that means that there are around 27 in the pool at the moment with another AQC finishing this Friday. So 3 to 4 months seems to be about right at the moment, however demand from the airlines is likely to increase during the winter.

SW

Sounds like you've received 'the call' at last Skywave? Congratulations.

Out of interest, which types and bases are being assigned at the moment?

Also did you get any idea of what order your course was called up in...date of application? Alphabetical? Handicap on the putting green?

Fraid not chocks,

My course finished on 17th June :bored:

Won't be long now, 2 of my course have been called up. None of us have any idea of how the order works, however the putting green is a possibility!

I'll let you know when I know.

SW

At present you will be able to choose which base you want. Liverpool is a touch harder; you will have to go on the transfer list.

What type is up to Easy. Personally, I would keep your fingers crossed for the Airbus...

Thanks guys and hang on in there Skywave. Can't be too long.

Craggenmore,

As far as EZY goes, not sure if they'll allow a choice of base (at least that wasn't the story when I went through in February!) - they usually let you know where your base will be at the start of the type rating (on induction day). If 737, the likelihood is either LTN or BFS, A319 LGW or STN initially. Get those transfer requests in early!

Cheers

FT

FliegerTiger,

We all got our choices back in June :}

cheers, Craggs

Jammy beggars!

So...have any of the recent AQC graduates heard any more news about how long we are all expected to be in the pool (assuming that an AQC has just finished)?

Surely they can't still be saying 3-5 weeks?!