If this is the same outfit that operates a school out of the Philippines then my advice is to stay away from AAA.

An utter sham.

Hi @Dogkim,

Could you be more specific on which part has delays?
I wanted to decide of it is tolerable, measn still ok.

Once you have done the training how long usually is the waiting time to comence doing the line training with Air Arabia?

Thank you!

Let's be very clear , there is NO job with air Arabia after you have finished. And yes it will take YEARS to finish, after that good luck getting them to give you a full atpl. Further oversupply in the market with less demand in the Middle East , where will you go ? Will you have the skill and knowledge level to pass an assessment anywhere else after being spoon fed everything ? Some might , I take it most will struggle .

The upcoming course has been cancelled. There will be further cancellations and set backs , any Qataris on the course? Have you been kicked out ?

I've been told to wait till 2018 !!!

Alpha said my UAE residency entry permit was refused the first time. They told me I could reapply in couple of months.

Today I pressed them for a definitive date and they said next year.

Well I guess everything happens for a reason.

I have friends flying for Air Arabia, the situation is not very good, there are too many FO without contracts, any new cadets after 1500hours will not receive contracts, there are delays in the Sims, some students had to wait a very long time before commencing their flight training.

While i do agree to most of what you said before the quoted text....the ground realities from ABY are:

1. Most MPLS who got inducted in 2011 are currently in various stages of command upgrade programme. Some of them scheduled to finish line training this month end. We are actually short of Capts now. its just one of those cycles where we are either short of capts or FOs. 4 years back we had multiple flights with 2 capts due to lack of FOs.
2. This region has been unstable for one reason or the other. we lost Syrian and Yemen destinations along with overfly permits as well. The other hubs apart from SHJ never really got off. Having said that they have announced new destinations starting next month.
3. Most FOs who chose not to upgrade are flying in EK, EY and QR. a few in Salaam, Saudi gulf and far east in Vietnam.
4. current bunch of MPL passouts are facing uncertain times as there are no confirmed jobs available after 1500 hrs contracts but atleast they get their ATPL before they leave. i have no clue about bond. Before QR was an attractive airline as they needed just 1000 hrs on type. Dont know how the current regional crisis is going to affect movement to that side
5. Still we do have regular resignations of FOs moving to EK. They keep calling our guys on a weekly basis. Bumped into 5 of our ex FOs in EK training college cafeteria a while ago.
6. 1500 to 2000 hrs of flying right seat in ABY is really worth it as it exposes the FOS to a lot of varied flying conditions. Atleast in ABY it is strictly one sector Capt PF and the other sector for FO. and FO PF means from eng start , taxi , takeoff, landing , taxi in , eng shut down till parking. you get to land in 45 degs bumpy conditions into SHJ and ME region (as it is now...pity the trainees) and -25 deg in Moscow or Kiev. Land in 5000 ft elevation in Nairobi , shoot VOR approaches in Iran/Saudi/Pakistan/India/Bangladesh. NDB approaches into certain airfields in iran.
So its all fun...and a little bit of hardwork...but well worth its while.
Most of ex ABY FOs have passed assessments in the other big 3 airlines. Many of them holding 2 offers from EY and EK. So yeah the FOs are pretty wet behind their ears when they start off...but in a couple of years they are doing just fine.

Well the first batch is perhaps lucky, there won't be a ton of upgrades I can assure you ! Put out an advertisement and you'll get hundreds of qualified people , far far simpler than an uograde program!

Yeah it's very indicative about the sad state of affairs at EK where they have to take a brand new ATPL from an MPL background , shows you how desperate things have gotten

Yeah you still pay the bond of you leave

Alpha is a joke , completely disorganized and full of folk who think they are better than everyone else .

This is an expensive risky gig where many are stuck at the moment , if you had half a brain you would figure a more efficient way to get a career going

Air Arabia are on my no fly list. The shambles that is this MPL of theirs has made me wonder what the hell is going on in their flt ops/training department. They don't seem to have a clue what they are doing.

I wouldn't trust them to make me my dinner, let alone carry my body and soul 35,000ft in the air!

They're not unsafe , in fact I think their training is quite good.

The problem with alpha and ABY is that it is a complete scam and rip off

Management is not helpful at all , they will let you starve better offering you pennies on the dollar

Officer Kite

wow you managed to insult 500+ pilots in one go...like any airline with a reasonably sized fleet (40+ aircraft) we do have our share of ASRs but atleast touch-wood so far we have been managing safety on a proactive basis. Since we had alpha cadets coming in batches atleast restrictions have been placed on their operations to certain airports in certain seasons till they get 750 hrs on type. After that they have a performance review flight(s) Same for new upgrades as well.

The topic here was the mgmt of alpha and aby for the MPL programme ...but you managed to write off the entire training and operations dept of ABY sitting on your comfy chair :ooh::rolleyes: Wish you could say this after you made a successful landing into some of the destinations we operate to.

Just to let you know. cadets have to pass various stages during their line training....and the training sectors get extended multiple times if it cannot be seen that the cadet can land in certain conditions into certain airfields. They also have to fly these approaches fully RAW mode without autothrust, autopilot or flight directors (idiot bars). Have you tried that in 45 deg C with the thermals bouncing you all the way down to touchdown? say Medina for instance or Khartoum or Shiraz? Landing everyday into SHJ with a 10 to 15kt tailwind?

Atleast i find the pilots know to fly their planes here....whilst i was working for an award winning airline in the same region i realized some had forgotten how to handfly completely.

On a side note: From your posts looks like you yourself are an MPL hopeful with easyjet... so you will understand what i am saying once you finish your Line training. Good luck with your training and future.

Actually that was the mentality of the company 3 years back. for 2 years they stopped upgrades and hired nearly 80 + left seaters from outside...infact even gave type rating to some. Many of them have left and sadly few were asked to leave after certain 'incidents'. At the same time the high time FOs (4000+hrs) realized they were not needed anymore in ABY and more than 50+ left to the neighboring carriers.

It did not help ABY when EK and EY reduced their minimum qualification time to 2500 jet hours .....so more FOs qualified into these carriers as well.

Mgmt woke up and realized this and started putting in a concrete upgrade program. The minimum qualification for upgrade in ABY is 4500 hrs in company but they started identifying suitable candidates above 3500 hrs and put them in a queue.
So yes the upgrade carrot is now dangling in front of these FOs...and yet some still are leaving. How many will eventually upgrade...that is for time to tell.

Infact 2 of my friends(320 Capts in other carriers) have offer letters from ABY for the past 9 months now but have not been given joining dates...i really don't think they will be called. Even they have given up hopes of joining. (and there goes my employee referral bonus as well http://cdn.pprune.org/images/smilies/badteeth.gif) so looks like they prefer internal upgrades now.

All said and done....yeah i see alpha cadets still waiting for months between their sim and line training begins. Recently went for a base training flight with 3 cadets and had time to finish only for 1 guy, the remaining two could not fly and later got to know they had to do their SIM check again as it had expired :rolleyes:

It is far cheaper to hire DECs , and ABY only cares about money , your career grow is the least of their concerns.

Joining alpha is very very risky.

Well doing items on the sim again for not completing base training within 28 days is common however to get these guys to organize that for you is ridiculously long , and for the most part they couldn't give a rats @$* if you finish or not

This place is all about money , alpha will try and sell you a dream job and make you pay big bucks for an assessment . Join at your own risk

Renz_Aero

Ground school might be the only phase that will go smoothly, once you're done with ground school. You will be facing delays going to Europe for your flight training. Once you get back from Europe you will be facing delays getting in SIM.

With all the delays it could take more than 2 years to complete. Not to mention accommodation, and food which you will be paying.

Facing all odds lets say you do complete your training with Alpha, you may or may not get their contract. They may not let your get your ATPL :rolleyes: they will keep delaying so that you will work for them on a low pay for a very long time :D


How do I know all this, I have friends working in ABY

Age
 

Do you know if age restriction at Alpha is still in place ? 33yo max
Heard that they will remove it like for the first batches

still 33 years

How is the current scenario at Alpha? I am looking to join by Q1 2018.Any advice?

I dont hear of much progress at all at alpha, unless someone here can shed more light, course is getting more expensive by the day and no chance of ever making your money back within 5-8 years.

No contract guaranteed
 

It costs 630k dhs from 2018 and they never promise contract. They've got more than enough FOs and SOs. They give few contract and the rest are kicked out.
Even if contract is offered after 1500, if FO refuses, they terminate you without notice period.
Takes way too longer than the school says. Forget about 18months.
Without contract you earn nothing. No travel benefit. No annual leave ticket. Your ID will include "TEMPORARY"
If Qatar mpl is available it's way better than this course. They at least hire the students with permanent contract at the end of the course. Both courses have bond anyway.
Some fail and school doesn't give a chance to redo it. They can kick you out anytime they want. They can make you repeat anytime they want too.

It never takes 18months. Please double it at least.
Delay is not explained by the school.
Without permanent contract the money you get will be nothing and no tickets will be available for you with any other airlines.
With contract you have 150k bond.

Thank you, very informative.

I've been saying this all along , it's simply not worth the money . You are paying so much cash for an unreliable , very slow process that seems to be falling apart.

Thanks for the feedback, it helped me to decide.

How many have failed and what part have they failed in ?

Not very sure about how many and which part. 14-16 ppl start as a batch and clearly not all of them graduate. Some batches have 10 left.. Only school knows the figure I guess. Many coudlnt make the first 8months. Later on, you can repeat one session by paying 4400dhs for mcc and a lot more for last phase of the course.
Depends on your performance but at the same time the evaluation isn't very objective. Instructors have all the power and if complain about it you gonna have a hard time since they say you have an attitude problem which will follow you till air arabia.

Gentlemen, I happen to know someone who is actually quite successful in this programme. Well when i say successful, he is in base training at the moment is what I last heard. They started in 2014, failed ground school and then reapplied to the programme and got reaccepted to do the programme again.

Has anyone some more information on the current situation in this academy?

They make you pay to repeat sim sessions ? Haha really what kind of airline is this ? What next pay to re do the base training ? Pay to redo your PCs?

This is clearly a joke

Many fail SIM sessions and it costs the most when ppl fail base training. Till you are done with alpha, you'll keep paying for numeral things like visa extension, ID, yearly medical, extended Portugal stay, fast track for license, visa run etc.

Now even worse. Air Arabia came up with a new contract which makes them no need to pay basic salary of usd1360, even after cadets start flying. Every expenses will have to be covered by cadets themselves. Any extra flights during training, extra line check, any required simulator sessions, medical license renew, and a lot more..
Changed the name of contract from second officer contract to second officer trainee contract and by doing so i Don't know how worse it can go.

Dear James,

hope your assessment went well, if you could please help me I'm going through the process of enrolling into AAA's cadet program, is it possible to tell me how did you prepare for the tests, is there any websites or apps that helped you for the prep, would really appreciate your assistance.

Hey everyone!

Doing my assesment by late August hopefully... any tips?

In regards to the delay, is it 1 year total? Like 2 months between phases or is it 1 year between each phase? Because one is doable the other isnt (I live in the UAE)

Secondly, where did you get the information about the new contract?

Thanks,
(Anyone else applying in the same time?)

Training is more than 3 years, definitely not 18 months as they say, so you can definitely except a delay of at least a year and half total during the training phases.

Alpha is a subsidiary of air arabia true but there is no contract between you and air arabia upon starting your training so eventhough you spend more than 200000 USD(including living expenses+ training fees) in 3 years, there is nothing to guarantee that you will get paid when you start flying. They can and will exploit you since the MPL is not valid up until you reach 1500hrs and you pass your final check, so basically you can't leave anywhere. If you try to speak with air arabia management they will tell you " there is nothing we can do, if you don't like it just leave" and can you really leave after you invested that much?
As one of the guys in his post said is true, now they are not paying a salary for their cadets until they are released which might take 3 months or even more or even maybe they just wont pay you till you finish your 1500 hrs. We all hope that things will change for the better though.
I am not telling you not to enrol in the program, I am just stating how things actually are so that you get your facts straight. At the end of the day, air arabia is liable to offer you 1500hrs, but the only question is are you willing to ride that train?

Hi , enquiry about your experience in FTE jerez
 

Hey !! Just want to know about your experience in FTE Jerez ! I am willing to do CPL , just confused where to join ! Pls do let me know !

They are now doing some flying at Sevenair Academy in Portugal; the first batch started few days ago

So what I understand is that if your visa gets rejected for some reason unknown to you, basically everything that you have invested in the MPL goes to trash?

Can anyone say how to fund for this MPL training? Would banks provide loans for this program?

Thought I would share some insight.

Having done all the assessments, speaking to a few cadets presently in the school at various stages of training - I can confirm that the delays are much worse than they sound like. Most of the posts in this thread are true. The training agreement between Alpha Aviation Academy UAE & G-Air Portugal has been cancelled with the last batches struggling to complete their cross country.

Delays between ground school and core flying are an average of 4-10 months. There is hope for improvement since SevenAir Academy has signed a new contract with Alpha and the first batch tied with SevenAir started. This should reduce the time between core flying phase and ground school. Problems begin to start upon return from core flying as you wait to begin A320 ground school, then again between base training and simulator assessments. If you are lucky to make it till here, flying the bus till 750 hours and the airline will decide based on your performance and availability to let you continue for another 750 hours as per the agreement.

If not the case, you can either be delayed further or simply denied progressing your hours and removed from training citing you have fallen below their requirements. Yes, it is now 'temporary S.O' contract. There have been cases between a transfer of visa, where the academy will transfer your visa from Alpha to Air Arabia before beginning training on the A320, where cadets have had their security clearance or entry permit rejected. If they feel so, you can reapply after a year, if not you are on your own. It is beyond their control as they claim.

If you have managed to reach the 1500 hour with your MPL, the ATPL can be delayed, as it requires airline approval to sign you off for the skill test. This is the least of worry as long as you agree to fly with them at low pay for as long as you can under changing contracts, without causing any incidents or accidents, then depending on availability, you will have the chance to get your unfrozen ATPL. Mind you, this does not necessarily happen at 1500 hours, it could be anytime later. Then you bond under a certain amount of currency and fly for them. Most applicants that began with training in 2014-16 are still flying on temporary contracts. 2010-2014 and before, the majority have gotten a placement with the airline.

Late 2016 till date, they are still under training. Although the brochure says 18 months, Alpha claims 20-24 months but the students speak for themselves saying it can be 36 months or longer. If you are not a resident in the UAE, be sure to add the expenses of transportation, food, accommodation, medical, extra visa (if applicable), security clearance fee (if applicable), extra exam fee (if applicable), extra flying hours or simulator sessions (if applicable) all clubbed with AED 630,000 (UAE VAT inclusive) for the complete training + AED 8060 + VAT (5%) for assessments and Class 1 medical including the UAE security clearance done in one go.

As for assessments, panel interview can be a bit tricky, do prepare well for it, or they might just fail you if they feel you could improve and come back in 6 months. It is only AED 800 so no big deal. English, Physics, Math and Psychomotor are basic GCSE level. It tests your high school fundamentals, practice well and you are fine. Psychometric assessment is now with EDMA Institute and costs AED 3150. I have heard people fail this due to the new battery test that tests your cognitive and spatial abilities along with general personality tests.

They will not share your results so it is up to the academy to decide based on your performance, I have been told it is the hardest stage of the assessment. If you don't clear it, come back after 1 year and pay the amount - they should take you. Each course starts every alternate month and they have not reduced the batches however they did reduce the overall annual intake due to insufficient aircraft. Presently 37 A320-200 with 5 or 7 leased A321 CEO/NEO to join later. The company claims their present fleet is 44 with 44 more A320 to come.

A separate news agency quoted plans to order 100 more A320NEO/B737/C Series jets by the end of the year. You join Alpha at your own risk if you have enough or more funding for the course. If you are not worried about spending 232,000 USD and have all the time - Alpha Aviation is for you. If the time is right and luck is in your pocket then you will end up with a contract and be happy. If anything changes, expect to go to jail or debt.

As the assessments at Alpha have a validity of 1 year, I have applied for the EasyJet MPL and if successful will begin training with them. I urge anyone else considering Alpha to weigh in other possibilities as well. Keep it your last resort.

All the best.

MPL
 

What will I be flying for in Air Arabia to complete my 1500 hrs, and will I get paid when I fly for them during the 1500 hrs?

Sushi, aircraft is A320, existing contract you get paid for the 1500 hours, in future may be not....

PS Accountable manager was fired yesterday....

Please help me out with the entrance exam questions regarding maths n physics