Cheers sunsetsheeplandings - yep although it will be the thing I never did, I'm still positive about aviation and life. At least I still get the cheap fares and the business upgrades from Mrs JJ!

Well done funkyt111 on getting so close on several occasions - where do you think you are coming up short at the final hurdle? agree with you on all your points - lots of quality prep beforehand

and for those soon to walk the line... just be yourself, but the best version of yourself - don't focus on the result - don't be desperate for it going your way- focus on the process with a humble air of confidence.

@junior jetset,

I was coming short at the final hurdle to a slight lack of prep on my part and also not 100% fully understanding the role. Once I understood this, it was much easier to tailor my approach to what they were looking for and tell them what they wanted to hear. It's all about demonstrating the qualities of a future captain.

funkyt111 - sounds like you are really honing in on what they really want and you learn a bit more at every go

you applying for this year's Virgin MPL? and whay about the easyjet MPL?

Hi SunsetSheep I'm 27 and coming from a maintenance/engineering background. I may still apply, I'm going to do all my research as advised and put all my effort into my application. If I like the finished product then I'll press send and cross my fingers.

Doesn't need to since he deservedly earned a place on the BA FPP :).
I can back up what he's saying. At my Aer lingus interview, I felt it was harder to really demonstrate the competencies because I didn't fully understand the role. Now that I'm aware that's one of my shortfalls, I'm spending a lot of time thinking about the role and what I can do to demonstrate the key competencies for the BA FPP. If you can do that here with Virgin, then candidates have a great chance of getting in.

Hi Guys,

Just checked with CTC and they confirm this is not financially sponsored scheme (as in they do not help guarantee the loan) but you will have the loan repaid back to you once qualified.

e

Very very disappointing if true. Guaranteeing loans is the only way (bar sponsoring the lot ofc :)) of making these schemes open to everyone. The model used by EZY MPL, CTC Wings etc and now apparently Virgin limits entry to those with the means to fund 100,000. Aviation remains an overwhelmingly middle/upper class profession and the tide shows no sign of changing.....

I spoke to CTC earlier in the week and they were not sure then, all should hopefully be revealed tomorrow.

Regarding the class thing, I knew one chap who was privately educated from nursery up to 18. His parents point-blank refused to put their house on the line and rightly so, he ended up trying the modular route I think. So, even out of those that could afford it, how many parents would take the risk?

The weird thing in my book is that this setup would not save an airline a lot of money if they are paying the training costs back anyway, so you would think they'd rather take the absolute best as opposed to the best out of a limited few.

Having the candidates with a loan hanging over them is a form of control. It produces a compliant, submissive employe who will keep their head down and tow the company line.

They are compromised professionals, and not people to admire or aspire to be.:=

Chatting to a Virgin FO up north the other week it doesn't sound like these cadets will be welcomed into the flight deck as peers.

Code93

That seems a fairly pessimistic stance!

Most captains and established FO's will also have a mortgage hanging over them, so will also be a slave to the loan department - no real difference is there?

Plus, many of the more grey haired ones often have divorced wife and kids - CSA payments on the balance sheet

Hi
I can't seem to find it but last year somebody broke down how much it would roughly cost if you were accepted on the course. Does anybody remember this?

Code93,

As an applicant for this years Virgin MPL scheme, it's saddening to hear that you got that impression from the Virgin FO.

Do you think that this was a chance encounter and therefore not representative of company wide views?

Any further news on the guarantee of loans?

There was no mention of a loans guarantee during the Virgin Atlantic presentation at the Pilot Careers Live event EZY_FR may have have asked the question directly.

As wonder88 says, no mention of it in the presentation (or finance at all for that matter :rolleyes:). On the CTC stand answers seemed to be different depending who you spoke to! CTC reps said it was unlikely but that they "might" help if you were successful and couldn't raise the funds. The cadets were more positive and suggested that guarantees were an option.

If anyone else got any more concrete information it would be good to know. Y

They haven't communicated particularly well regarding this issue. Its a time consuming and expensive application process to go through on the presumption that they 'might' help. Hopefully we can find a concrete answer before the weekend! :ugh:

Code93 -
I find this a somewhat strange point of view - you come across as rather bitter and regardless of the way one becomes a pilot these days, everyone has the same (or similar) fees to pay. Whether or not this comes from a loan or personal funds makes little to no difference, especially at a company like Virgin where it really is a career for life. The purpose of this forum is to post constructive advice for individuals wanting to start their career in the industry, not for needless negativity. Having spoke to a range of Virgin employees at the flyer exhibition this weekend, all of them seemed incredibly keen to welcome all of the current cadets, as well as any future cadets, to the flight deck.

Best of luck to anyone applying to the scheme this year.

I can confirm what ManUtd1999 has said about the cadets stating that guarantees were an option. The cadet I spoke to seemed to think that the guarantees would be available this year. Last year it was possible to borrow up to £119k (the £109k course cost plus living expenses). I do think Virgin et al look at the individual's situation closely though.

In answer to Flybrain's question, one of the contributors to last year's Virgin Atlantic thread calculated that if interest rates remained the same, the total cost of finance would be approximately £26k. So the programme basically costs about £150k including living expenses, assuming interest rates don't rise. You get £109k of that back through the bond repayments on top of the circa. £27k salary.

h1ghfly3r I second what you say - well done!

All of the Virgin FOs I met at Dibden were very positive and welcoming - not a hint of animosity

Admittedly, it was there job to be liaison people between Virgin and potential cadets - but I just don't buy what Code93 says that it is widespread across the Virgin culture/flight deck and if it is Richard won't be impressed by those attitudes - period!

non-british nationals chances ?
 

Hello chaps,

This course looks like a great oppurtunity for the time being, likewhise said before . I'm considering filling an application. I just need to sort out something for my peaco of mind, can we assume that Virgn officials tend to give a preference to UK-nationals ? Or is this totally irrevelant ? What about previous courses ? Have we any statistics available ?

I would say it is a widespread view.

Just try and find the thread where it was first announced last year, lots of people were disgusted before it even materialized it was a paid for course!

I'm not sure what kind of image you are imagining life on the line will be like for the cadets but everyone from captains, cabin crew, TCO's, loaders etc that I have talked too werent too impressed that people can effectively buy their way up the career ladder.
The guys working at the exhibition were acting the way they were for their own career prospects and couldn't care less about the cadets.

As for saying the successful ones were fantastic for beating off 1000's of other applicants, do you really think all the other applicants had £119000 or a credit rating to get it? Obviously not, you are realistically talking 100ish people who can buy their way in.

But of course you can choose to live in blissful indebted ignorance and take loads of selfies in your uniform for your FB friends who will have assumed no money was exchanged during your hiring process and you earned the job on merit!:ok:

Code93 - It is clear that your opinion of the Virgin Atlantic MPL is a negative one, a view which some may or may not agree with. Regardless of whether or not you support the scheme, let's not forget that this particular thread is intended to assist those who are considering applying for the scheme and a place to bring together information that will benefit them. Whilst one message stating objective reasons for disagreeing with the scheme may be appropriate, a second message denouncing the achievements of the first twelve to be selected and making references to people taking selfies in uniform serves only to highlight your own levels of immaturity and jealousy.

I too have spoken to many Virgin pilots, the majority of whom are not linked to the cadet scheme in any way. Whilst some are apprehensive of the scheme (I certainly didn't encounter a single one that was 'disgusted' by the scheme), the vast majority were keen to assist their soon-to-be colleagues once they reach the flight deck. As for the notion of 'buying' into the company, although starting on a reduced pay scale, the bond is paid back in full to cadets upon completion of training over a 7 year period. As such, this has the potential to rival the best cadet schemes currently available. In addition, current VAA staff can apply for the scheme (some of whom were successful in securing a place on the Virgin MPL) so in no way are current staff disadvantaged by the scheme.

Best of luck to those that apply, and hopefully we can now move away from this negativity and back to what the thread is intended for.

@PolarOps. The only demographic I have seen regarding the successful candidates last year was an age range of 22-32 (and that was somewhere on this forum so can't 100% verify). Obviously the official criteria merely says you need a right to live and work in the UK, given the relevant EU free labour market laws. What do you stand to lose if you go ahead and apply? Some time certainly, plus maybe a trip to the UK and the circa 300 Euros they charge you for the assessment. On the other hand, you get some practice with applications, and maybe assessment and interview experience.....ça dépend de toi

PolarOps

Regarde dans tes messages privés. Je t'ai envoyer quelques infos untiles :)

More to the point...
 

..has anybody actually heard anything back yet? At this same point last year (i.e. 10+ days since opening) there were already plenty of reported rejections as well as people reporting scheduled assessment days. I'm curious about the complete radio silence on that so far this year. Has anybody heard anything back?

CTC did make it clear that nobody would find out the outcome of their applications until Dec 7th at the earliest.

OK, that explains it, thanks!

Are any of you applicant's going to ask for an itemized cost breakdown of where your money will be going? Don't you have any questions as to why this scheme seems to be incredibly more expensive than other similar schemes(of which they them selves are considerably more expensive than cost price of training received

Corruption indicators | Bribery & Corruption | SFO - Serious Fraud Office

Code93 it's because the base training touch and go's are much more expensive in an A330 than those smaller jets!

But, seriously Code93 take you pessimism and shove off!

Code93 that’s ‘virgin’ on the ridiculous. (Sorry, couldn’t resist)

Deadline extended to 20th November.

Stratopause Lol! Loving the sense of humour there, so cheesy, but love it :P


FlyVeryHigh- Yeah I saw that too this morning. Wonder why? Give people more time?

---

Good luck to all for when you do hear in a couple of weeks :)

I'd imagine they haven't filled their quota of applications.

They want to make sure they have more applicants than the NASA astronaut selection programme opening up next month:

"Between 4,000 and 8,000 people apply during each round of NASA applications, but only eight to 35 are selected. And the next round is opening soon.". Significantly better odds actually!

I can't wait for Virgin Galactic's MPL programme:)

If it's to do with application numbers, I wouldn't be surprised, maybe the money is running out? 109k's can't keep changing hands forever, or can they?

Maybe it's a mix between that, and the fact that they were closing the deadline a good while before responses were due out to people, and they've realised they've probably got nothing to lose in keeping the application window open a little longer.

It's hard to imagine this being done for any reason other than disappointment with the number of applications, isn't it?

I recall that last year they received more than 7,000 and had made statements about hoping for 9,000 this year? Doesn't the BA FPP average more like 4-5,000? Last year Virgin got a lot of publicity via TV and national newspapers which probably caused a spike. It's hard to do that a second time around because news outlets are interested in, well, news.

By their own admission, a good portion of the applications last year were incomplete. The fact of the matter is that for a programme like this you are probably going to get about 4,000 serious applicants. I would also venture to say that any serious applicants who are going to successfully prove an established interest and commitment to aviation (i.e. pass the selection) will have already applied.

Perhaps they have set themselves an unreasonable goal and are now fixated on achieving it, even though the benefit of all those additional applications is arguably marginal.

Closing date.
 

Saying those who are serious applicants would have already applied is a bit silly.

There's no prize for the person who sent their application im first, so why not take your time to construct a professional and polished application.

This is just an extra week to proof read and edit my application. Which is fine by me!

last year, I did the written questions part of my application in about 45mins

one online spell check, clicked send

didn't try and use loads of buzz words, was totally frank and to the point and only probably used 60-70% of word allowance

too much waffle and you will lose the reader at the first major question

be articulate, be smart and be efficient with what you write!

You miss every opportunity you don't take.

@tfn25: Fair comment, I take that part back. I do think they must be disappointed with the numbers though.

@volunteerpilot: somewhere buried in last year's thread there was a report of an age range of 17-43 at one of the assessment days, if that helps. You even have another week to do the application!