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I guess that wasn't meant to be released just yet! Although, yes, I would also be very interested to know what it said...! BVB, can you fill us in on what we missed?:ok:
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The clue is in the URL....
It was about CTC getting the contract to train 50 mpl students to go straight onto Virgin widebodies. I'm guessing it was supposed to be announced this Saturday at Heathrow but Flightglobal got ahead of themselves. My post in the other Virgin thread was deleted. |
Yep been following the trail of emerging info about this for a few weeks but was hoping for a few more details... Oh well, guess it's going to have to be a wait until Virgin's talk on Saturday morning! Looking forward to hearing what they have to offer.
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The article basically said 50 cadets, CTC MPL, training in UK/Arizona. It also said it would open today but nothing so far on CTC site.
From reading Terms and Endearment thread on the subject: "Yep fully fledged base trained in a real aeroplane First Officers. Fully funded by the the company with 9 year bond and slightly reduced pay until pay point 9 to cover costs then non cadet pay as far as I am aware although might be slightly wrong, but in principle correct. Sounds like a very old school fully sponsored scheme which should be applauded in my opinion. The new cadets will be made to feel very welcome because that is what we do internally with any new joiner regardless of background. The scheme is very small in the big scheme of things and there will always be opportunities for experienced pilots. Not dissimilar to BA in that respect. The bottom line is cadets recruited on ability and not ability to pay. Gets my vote. All the best" Sounds good if you ask me :ok: |
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"Future Flyers" makes it sound like a crèche in a departure lounge.
Still, wonder what i'll be doing at 12.02 tomorrow :8 |
Opens midnight tonight... exciting stuff!
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Does Virgin also hire pilots from outside the UK?
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Is there any concrete info to show that it really is fully funded?
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Funding-wise, if it is indeed fully funded, I imagine it will depend on how "fully-funded" is defined.
It would be great if it was in the style of the Hamble cadetships back in the 60's and 70's where absolutely everything was paid for, fairly unlikely though. I imagine that the best possible realistic outcome would be for it to be broadly similar to BA's FPP, where the airline secures the loan but the trainee bears a significant amount of the financial risk involved. If it were the former, I'd be tempted to throw an application in. If it were the latter I'd get some more experience working in my current industry so if things didn't work out I could probably jump back as a subcontractor. I imagine all will be revealed in a couple of hours. |
It will be fully funded, even if guys fail the training Virgin will take the hit, I believe the cadets will even be on a salary during their training.
This will pave the way for Virgin to start taking Direct entry turbo prop guys. Good luck to all who apply. |
Virgin Atlantic Future Flyer Programme
Login | CTC Wings
£109k for a 9 year bond with a company in uncertain times. Can't imagine an MPL practising landing 3 times a month will be terribly good value. Not sure about this one or how other airlines would view it in the worst case scenario. As for CTC, par for the course.. |
A £109k security bond is required, funded by the applicants, though at least they seem to offer a guarantee to at least a few applicants. Makes it broadly equivalent to the FPP then in my book.
Given there is a 98% pass rate at CTC I'm surprised that for these schemes one can't simply purchase insurance that would cover a course failure, this would make it much more accessible than a security bond. I know there have been cases where airlines get into bother etc. but the recent redeployment of the Monarch MPL folks suggests that certainly for the smaller intakes it is possible to find a position elsewhere if one's sponsor can't take their trainees on. Given the things that have been insured at Lloyd's of London over the years I'd imagine it would be possible. Probably cheaper than losing the interest on £100k plus over a few years as well. As always, best of luck to those who apply. EDIT: I now see that they offer a guarantee to few applicants who cannot afford the bond. |
They are only offering the guarantee option to a small number of candidates.
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BBC article suggests cadets would go to the A330:
Virgin Atlantic trains no-experience pilots in Southampton and Phoenix - BBC News |
All cadets start off on the A330.
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I tried clicking on the "apply now" button but it does not work. Does anyone else have this problem?
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sammyduke - Yep same here, it was working earlier, I did start an application then it gave up on me halfway through and appears the link doesn't work anymore... Hopefully it will be back up and running in the morning though.
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So much for it being a fully funded paid up front cadet scheme! A cadet course based on aptitude rather than bank balance? Salary whilst on the cadet course? Pprunes finest ladies and gents :D
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CTC Wings' website appears to have crashed with all the heavy traffic. Just goes to show how competitive it will be.
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Still down?
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According to this link, two weeks. Virgin Atlantic launches first airline pilot career programme | Pilot Career News
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Seems it´s already working, just sent my application :)
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Still down here. I wonder do they have a paper questionnaire? ;)
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All I get is a database error.
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Can anyone confirm the amount of cadets they are looking to recruit in this intake? I've seen a few different figures (6...12...50...) floating around here and the web so would be good to hear a definitive.
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If you guys have Facebook, it may be worthwhile to head over to CTC's page as they're holding a VS Q&A session.
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thowmas - two courses of 6 for 2015. Also they're planning to run it annually.
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If one is unsuccessful in applying for this Virgin MPL would I be right in thinking that you wouldn't then be able to reapply to CTC for another 6 months or so?
If this is the case then could this potentially prevent you from applying to the BA FPP if it opens up early in 2015? |
Website crashed due to 'overwhelming' response
From the VA website:
"We know that Virgin Atlantic is a great place to work but the number of applications for our new pilot cadet scheme has been overwhelming. So much so that the website hosted by CTC, the company who are providing the training, has struggled to cope with demand." It makes me wonder why they set the requirements so low: only 5 GCSEs with Cs in Maths, English and Science, when the Easyjet MPL, Flybe MPL, Cityflyer MPL, Aer Lingus cadet scheme and BA FPP all require A Levels. I'm not saying that all the candidates called for interview will have only 5 GCSEs, I'm just pointing out they could have cut down on a lot of applications. The other thing that strikes me as strange is how widely publicised this scheme is... it's all over the news. Surely any prospective future A330 F/O worth his salt would already be in touch with the current cadet recruitment scene and be able to make his way to the CTC website without the BBC, national newspapers and radio telling him to do so? Or perhaps this is one of those schemes not aimed at those who have ever had the thrill of flight in a PA28 or C150, know what a swept wing is or how a jet engine works... but for someone who couldn't find anything to do with their degree or got bored of accounting. Half of my friends are applying and most of them wouldn't know what an A330 was if it hit them in the face. Maybe I'm just bitter because it know that there are going to be thousands and thousands of applicants, possibly in the tens, and I know I don't stand a snowballs chance in hell. Nevertheless CTC will still pinch my hard earned £250 if I'm lucky enough to be called down to Dibden. |
a quote from the Head of Training Standards, Virgin Atlantic
You may find it answers some of your queries Thank you for your comments. I understand that this can me an emotive subject but I can assure you that this is not pilots on the cheap as Virgin are going to invest in their development with us. A lot of work has gone on over the last 18 months to be at a stage to launch and I am very excited and proud to be part of it. To just put minds at rest about future DEP recruitment please find below 2 points: 1/ We envisage future recruitment will continue to include significant numbers of experienced pilots via our existing 3,000 hr application routes. With almost half of our pilot workforce expected to retire within the next 15 years, there will be opportunity via both the cadet route and via the conventional experienced pilot recruitment route, and we’re also looking in the longer-term to offer an intermediate programme between the two. 2/ First pilots from the Future Pilot programme are expected to commence line flying with us in 2017. We have recently updated the 10 candidates in our pilot hold pool that we do not expect to undertake recruitment in 2015 (although there will be some internal command promotions) as a result of the change in mix of our route network between flights requiring two and three pilot complements. However, we expect that we will be recruiting in early 2016 – ahead of the first pilots from our Future Pilot programme arriving – and will afford priority at that time to those candidates currently in our hold pool. It’s also likely that we’ll invite further external applications from pilots meeting our criteria of 3,000 hrs including 1,000 hrs on a commercial jet transport in excess of 15 tonnes MTOW Thank you Nathan Training Standards Manager Virgin Atlantic |
I think its safe to say the ones who are successful will be of similar profile to BA's cadets, regardless of the minimum educational requirement. So anyone who has just the bare minimum or your bog standard A level's don't think you will be flying a A330 anytime soon.
Its a very clever marketing ploy by Virgin, by putting the requirements so low they have attracted a lot of media attention which is free publicity. The negative is that they have had every Tom Dick and Harry applying for it thus crashing the website, but still Branson never misses a trick, it's great publicity. |
Half of my friends are applying and most of them wouldn't know what an A330 was if it hit them in the face. |
and we’re also looking in the longer-term to offer an intermediate programme between the two. |
2/ First pilots from the Future Pilot programme are expected to commence line flying with us in 2017. For a company that values loyalty so much, why aren't they giving their own staff who work tirelessly in non-flying jobs but have frozen ATPLs a look in ? I know many cabin crew and ground staff who aren't happy about this. Don't believe the spin. Pilots on the cheap. |
Ohhhh dear, I bet some jobs have been lost Oxford, how could they let this one slip through the net :}
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From what I can see, CTC runs the UK cadet pilot scene, they have easyjet, BA, monarch, Qatar airways, FlyBe and now Virgin as well as many others all wrapped up. Is this a good thing ? I don't know, but I'd be worried if I was in OAA.
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BAe 146, even the BA scheme is not as cut throat as you may think...
I convinced a friend of mine to apply the very first time around in 2011, he couldn't decide on a career. He knew bugger all about the industry and BA, no degree and BBC at A-level, the bare minimum. He did extremely well on the aptitude tests, worked his butt off learning about BA and the industry for the interviews and group tasks, and he has probably grown to love aviation even more than I do... Oh, he also just started on line on the A320 out of LHR, and now has the job which I so desperately want...Funny world :8 I will admit, from what I have heard he is a rare example of one getting through with such qualifications, but it's possible if you put the work in and exude the passion. |
Ohhhh dear, I bet some jobs have been lost Oxford, how could they let this one slip through the net The cadets could have stayed with him to keep costs down ! |
Ohhhh dear, I bet some jobs have been lost Oxford, how could they let this one slip through the net |
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