Pushing the joystick forward (away from you) moves the ball down, pulling towards you moves it up. Best of luck

Did they cancel your assessment? I was supposed to take it the following week in Madrid but it was cancelled, I guess because coronavirus. Do you have any info?

Yes, My stage 3 was supposed to take place on the 25th in Madrid and it was cancelled along with all stage 3 during the month of March and April.

My Gatwick assessment in April has been cancelled & postponed. My thoughts go out to the pilots on line - easyJet is in a great position cash-wise, but no airline is ever prepared for 6 months+ of no cashflow.

Think all recruitments have ceased for the foreseeable...a message from Balpa

Dear members,



With all that is going on in the world at the moment and all the uncertainty within the aviation industry, we appreciate that this is a very worrying time for those of you currently in training or who have recently finished your training. As I’m sure you can all appreciate, the main focus for BALPA is in dealing with the individual airlines and their pilot workforce, to secure the future of the profession. Although it may feel like you, our nextGen members are alone right now we can assure you that by undertaking this vital work, BALPA are also ensuring the brightest possible future for you after the current situation has passed.



We appreciate that you will all have many questions about the future of the airline industry and whilst we don’t have a crystal ball this communication is intended to answer some of those questions.



Below we have aimed to cover the primary concerns of job prospects and protecting yourself financially, however if any of you have any other issues you wish us to cover then please get in touch.



In response to the Covid-19 outbreak, most airlines worldwide and all European airlines have ceased recruitment for the foreseeable future. This compounded with the recent collapse of airlines such as BMI Regional, Thomas Cook and now Flybe, means that the U.K and Europe currently has an excess of qualified pilots. At this moment in time, it is unclear when recruitment will begin again, however what is known is that it will be on a much smaller scale than was previously being experienced.



What this means for you is that when recruitment does starts again, you should expect to be competing for fewer positions against a lot more candidates, many of whom will already have years of flying experience in the airline industry.



To mitigate against this there are a number of steps that you can take now. For those of you about to start training, it is worth considering postponing your start date and/or looking at options of spreading your training over a longer period than originally planned.



If you are currently in training, we are pleased to see that some schools have already begun offering their students the options of slowing down their training and/or temporarily withdrawing from training courses, with the purpose of pushing graduation dates into the future.



With all of this in mind it is also vitally important to protect yourself financially. BALPA always discourages students from paying for their training up front or in unjustified large payment chunks and we’d like to reiterate that again.



For schools that require large payments it is worth asking to break those payments down into smaller more regular payments, in order to retain the money in your own account for as long as possible. Whilst we are not expecting to see any flight schools going bust as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak, it cannot be guaranteed.



For those of you considering leaving paid employment to complete your training, it would be very prudent to reconsider such action at this time. We could strongly suggest remaining in your current employment and developing a plan to train around your current job, certainly until such time as airlines’ future recruitment plans become much clearer.



For those of you just leaving High School and considering embarking upon a career as a professional pilot we would advise in this current climate to gain experience in another professional prior to undertaking any training. This will serve two purposes; firstly, it will postpone your training start date until there is a much clearer picture on future pilot recruitment plans and allow the current excess of pilots to dry up. Secondly, it will give you a fall-back plan should you fail to gain employment as a professional pilot.



What the world is facing now is unprecedented and nobody has all of the answers. We understand that many of you may feel alone right now however rest assured you are not. Being part of a union means that we are all in this together and we at BALPA are always here to assist and support you in any way we can.







Kind Regards,



Your BALPA nextGen committee

I was contacted yesterday saying I was successful in my stage 3 assessment, and could start in Oxford on 14th April. I have responded to this, but have not yet heard anything back from CAE/easyJet as yet, but will keep you posted. Want to be very happy, but with things as they are at the minute I can't help but be sceptical.
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You have still 2 years ahead of you. Anything can happen. Hopefully by then all will be better.

Just to confirm this is easyjet MPL?

Yes, the easyJet MPL. Had stage 3 on 10th March.

You may not even be allowed to travel soon.

Non-essential etc. Key Workers only.

I'd delay training or at least NOT pay any deposit until we know what's what.

Going to be a lot of experienced pilots looking for jobs for years to come.

​​​​​​I would certainly agree with the 'NOT paying any deposit' part, but as an airline backed MPL, I wouldn't be too worried about the job prospects part.

What's that based on? I'm an easyjet captain and most of us are very doubtful we'll have an airline to work for this time next year.

Maybe I should rephrase that to 'if it actually goes ahead'. Which like you say, with the current situation, I am sceptical of anyway if I am honest.

I would like to think that if they were likely to be going under in the next few months that training schemes would get pulled before they even start in order to save on costs. But needless to say it is unlikely I'd be giving any training school any money before some sort of guarantee is in place in case that did happen after training has commenced.

And what sort of guarantee would you be looking for?
if I was you I would be treading very carefully, the industry could well be in meltdown and you.may end up with a MPL and no airline to join.
I would be seriously looking at modular at this point if at all. But hey it's not my money

If I were looking at starting this course now, I would hold off on signing anything that would commit me to anything financially until we start hearing what the current MPL cadets in the pipeline at both CAE and L3 are being told. Shouldn’t have to wait too long - there seem to be courses finishing every month or so.

Yes the hiring landscape may look different in 18-24 months once you’ve finished the course, but if their hiring is delayed then you should expect a knock on effect on your own as they are all in the queue ahead of you. Do you have a plan for how you will support yourself / repay your loans if the delay is 12, 18, 24 months? How will you keep current during this time? Plenty to think about.

Might even be worth asking CAE point blank about the status of their most senior cohort of MPLs who haven’t yet joined EasyJet. (And get the answer in writing.)

Don't worry, I won't be committing to anything without the relevant pieces of information in place. I've worked in the industry for several years, and know not to be that naive.

Problem is it is your money that would be wasted so, unfortunately, the school don’t care and they will be crying out for cash soon so it’s in their best interest to get you in.

Careful with this... schools sell training which has nothing to do with job landing... it's in their best interest to sell that training ... whether you have a job or not by the end of the process... that don't really care if their business line is up and running.

Exactly, the school will be absolutely delighted to sell you an ATPL/MPL. Doesn’t help when there’s not a single use for it. At that point you’ve just got an expensive photo album sadly.

Actually it is quite the contrary. The more likely they are to go under, the more eager they will be to sign you up for a course and take your money.