I had a good laugh at the CTC representative on BBC Breakfast this morning chucking out the usual flying school propaganda pending pilot shortage spiel and advertising the Virgin MPL scheme. He omitted to mention the £109000 payment.

The only pilot shortage will be for flying instructors!

stu-baylis- Were the application essay questions found within the main application or were they sent to you after submitting the first part? I've managed to access the application page but I'm unable to find any essay questions!

Thanks

V1

They spring up after proceeding through all your previous flying experience. There is no separate tab for them though as with the other sections. IMO poor site design. :}

So anyone qualified beyond PPL level is excluded. Someone with first time passes cannot apply. An MPL & 330 rating for £110,000 :sad:

Good luck to all that apply but this is just further proof that the job of first officer has become just a matter of putting anyone in the seat whilst creating an extra income stream.

To allow a guy from CTC to go around talking about pilot shortages on BBC is also not on. This was nothing short of advertising. If there were a pilot shortage then all virgin has to do is open up recruitment offering a bonded A330 rating and they would be inundated with applications from experienced FO's.

Good luck with you MPL pilot up front when the s@#t hits the fan and he is left to sort it. Lets hope the skipper has some good handling experience.

They are getting cheap pilots and I am one of them :O

Being presumptuous, the new cadets will join as second officers/cruise pilots, no? And regardless of that fact, what does this mean for F/O's from other companies who already have a type-rating and experience looking to work for Virgin? Is that door now shut?

Still down for some?

Isn't it incredible how simply scrolling up answers most questions! And I quote: '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.' I apologise. I guess I've failed selection!

This is the result and reality of all these CTC schemes:

I fully understand who is going to apply and get a chance to step into his/her career dream, better do a mpl than funding a training with no guarantees at the end. What I don't get is which game the CAA is playing. Those fellows will end up flying an A330 along intercontinental route with more or less 3 real t/o and landing per month and 98% of cruise time with autopilot on. What kind of experience are going to build with that? I could accept the Flybe MPL because Flybe cadets were going to fly turboprop aircraft into :mad: weather and awful approaches and I could even partly understand the Easyjet one, still 4 legs to fly per day and a wide range of airports with different types of approach where they can build up a quite amount of skills on, but the virgin one is just a shame of a program. It's awful to say but I am awaiting the first occasion where a MPL cadet is going to prove his/her skills during an emergency situation. Said that good luck for who is going to apply.

'Please enter the earliest available date you could start training?'
How did you go about this one?

Hey there
Does anybody know when the selection days at CTC are expected to start? Will it be possible for the candidate to choose the date?
Thanks

Does anyone know if the BBVA maximum amounts have changed from previous years?

I originally understood it as the maximum they could lend is 60% of property value less mortgage. I.e. Property value £100k mortgage of £20k = £80k. Max amount (60%) then = £48?

Now, when looking at their site I can't find that statement.

InformationAlpha - I think what you see is what you get with that one!? I guess depends on your job notice period, current commitments etc... Definitley no trick to this one!

For those who have submitted their applications, how many words were required for the essay questions? I am still waiting to hear back from one of my references so I would like to make the best use of my time.

Hey everyone,

I would also like to apply for the Programme, but I'm unsure how to answer the question about driving offences. A few months ago I drove a car in Germany while exceeding the permitted alcohol limit.. Should I write this down or should I refrain from sending the application at all?

Would be grateful for any advice!

Hey guys,

It's just me or the part where they offer a guarantee to few applicants who cannot afford the bond is now missing? :confused:

You'll be alright as you mentioned it was in another country . . . :rolleyes:

Personally I would tell them about it. What's the worst that could happen? Yes They might turn your application down because you have been honest or they might see your honesty as a quality they want in a pilot working for their company and take you on. A far worse scenario would be that they accept you and you get you excited, turn your life upside down in preparation for starting the course only to find it has shown up once they perform a background check on you and see that you haven't been honest and cancel your offer?
In any job interview etc honesty is always the best policy

Good luck with the application

That's a bit harsh don't you think?

I've got some advice; don't drink and drive!

Thank you very much!

As I would also like to apply for the BAFPP in 2015:

Does British Airways ask questions like these as well? Isn't it possible that information given to Virgin could be passed on to British Airways via CTC?

Sammyduke - if you are successful in your application with any UK airline, you will need to provide CRCs from all the countries you have lived in.

For example I lived in France for 3 years and therefore to obtain an airside pass I had to provide a British CRC and a French "Bulletin casier judiciaire numéro 3".

Think twice about lying or "omitting" information on any application form as if you are found out; lying is gross misconduct thus a sackable offence.

Anyone know when the application deadline is?

Just been informed I have not been selected. Well Damn.

Any other one who got a letter from CTC?

Hey guys!

does anyone know the best way to answer this question "what do you believe to be the greatest opportunities facing Virgin Atlantic currently? What can you contribute to their business? " :sad:

:rolleyes:Sammyduke, I can only assume you are having a laugh, if you’re not,.. at the risk of sounding like a sanctimonious git, your drink driving offence is, in my opinion, a serious problem.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a drink,( indeed several), like most of us, but your decision to get into a car, over the limit, will seriously be a huge barrier to a commercial flying career.

If you feel you are OK to drive over the limit, would you not, if the occasion arose, feel the same about getting into an aircraft where the limit is only 20mg?

Sorry mate, my vote would be to have you nowhere near my right hand seat, and, as a training Captain, occasionally sitting on selection panels, you would get a serious no vote.

Nothing personal, and we all make mistakes, but you made the wrong one for this industry.

Just applied (Fingers crossed), does anyone know how long it takes to hear back usually?

Thanks

Sammyduke a drink driving offence may not only limit your chances of obtaining an airside ID after a background check, it may also limit your prospects of obtaining a U.S. visa. As Virgin predominantly fly to the U.S. this would make it impossible for you to be considered for employment - sorry to break the news.......

Remember you'll also need Visa approval for the large part of the training that takes place in Arizona...

Hi Manulks! Welcome to the wonderful world of pprune, we don't bite!

Regarding your question, nobody on this forum can tell you how to approach such a question. Everyone is competing for very few places and if anyone were to mention what to do or any tips, then that will potentially give others an advantage, maybe even disqualifying themselves. This will apply to all airline schemes, so try to avoid asking such questions here in the future. :)

In response to the time frame to hear back etc, I was informed yesterday after applying on Thursday. Very disappointed, I must admit, but, I guess that's life.

Good luck

tobster911, did you receive an email reply or did you log on to the CTC application to find out?

Im not entirely clear on the finance of this program. Can anyone explain to me what, in real terms, I need to have in the bank (by means of a loan or savings) to get through this program if successful?


My understanding is that we need to at the very least raise £69k security deposit. I also remember seeing something about MPL Fees (£20k, £19k payments). When you click the finance tab on the CTC website it directs you to the Easy MPL section.

I was under the impression that you need a security bond of £109k.

Where did you read £69k. Must have missed something.

You need a security bond of £109K, plus additional costs for food, social costs, insurance, etc. The £69K is the bond that will be repaid to you for the EZY scheme, for the VS scheme the entire £109K is repaid to you.

ok, thanks. So basically i need to find £109k somehow to get in the door and then they give me it back. Seems fair but not easy to raise £109k even if you're going to get it all back you know. How do ctc cadets normally go about this? BBVA? Mum and dad?

BBVA is the usual route, which requires security, usually in the form of a house. CTC claim that Virgin are prepared to sponsor a select few "exceptional candidates" and guarantee the loan for them, like BA do. It's all very vague and nobody seems to know much about it, CTC included :ugh:

Do you have to self-sponsor if you can (with Ba you don't)? What about if you can't raise the funds but your parents could, would Virgin help then? Does selection mean Virgin will help out, or could they turn round and refuse?

Maybe somebody who went to the Flyer event knows a bit more?

Tobster911, if you don't mind me asking what flying experience do you have.

It seems very odd to be declined so early?

For those who have heard back, did you submit your essay question answers?