Qatar Airways MPL - CTC

[kmjame]

I am writing this as a PPL holder deciding if to chase the "cadet scheme" or the conventional stream of PPL-CPL-MEIR-GA. Based in New Zealand the thought of having to travel to gain experience excites me more far more than it scares me from following my dream.

However, I have been looking into the CTC "Qatar" MPL which from what I understand is one of the closest forms of a guaranteed employment with you signing on with Qatar before training even commences including a trip to Doha to meet and greet. Should I be afraid of committing to this sort of thing? Obviously the money is huge but the bank can solve that problem.

Getting accepted is another issue but being involved in such a dynamite country and airline like Qatar has got to be more appealing than the Jetstar/CX/Virgin/REX side.

Anyone else looking into this? It seems to me like a no brainer way to get into the airline flying. Sure I will miss the glory years of having fun out in the bush, Outback or middle of no-where watching my hour tally climb but the middle east seems like a challenge just as exciting.

[limesoda]

I recently went through selection and 3 others and i will be going out to Qatar for a meet and greet.

Understandably, information about how previous cadets are getting on is difficult to come by, however after looking into it i have contacted some of the CTC cadets out there now.

One of the big problems is the time lag when waiting for line training, however they are still payed a salary and housed well.

All in all the experience is fantastic (in my opinion), especially for a young person and has all the potential to open doors for you in the future. It is one of few schemes out there that can guarantee you some form of a salary, however with all of these MPL, there is never a 100% chance of employment. That being said, chances are a lot higher than if you went through a self funded ATPL.

Best of luck if you apply

[kmjame]

Thank you for both of your reply's.
I have read both sides of the coin, it does seem that the rules and regulations are quite strict and that a lot of pilots currently in the airline are not as happy as they could be. However you cant please everybody and a place and company is 65% how YOU make it. I truly believe that. I have applied, it seems that here in New Zealand things wont be getting underway until next year. Hopefully a few cadets go through and they have ironed out all the kinks and the process only becomes smoother with time.
I am interested in how your "meet and greet" goes @Charliegarner please do keep in touch on the whole experience.
Cheers.

[GoProPilot]

Guys,

How did you get hold of £105,000/122,055.94 EUR/162,833.20 USD/???

I really want to apply but cant get hold of that.. Feel like a to ask my parents to remortgage their house.

Is there anyother way to raise capital?

Should I start a company on AIM and issue a few billion shares, award my self loads of salary and bonus then shut down the company?

Joke..

No. seriously how?

[limesoda]

In all seriousness i am one of the few fortunate candidates who have willing parents to put a house on the line. Personally i don't feel comfortable with it and dont want to be 'another one of those cadets' that completely takes advantage of their parents. However if i do end up doing it or for anyone applying for an intergrated ATPL or MPL scheme, having a tagged airline offer you some form of support e.g. employment, salary and type ratings is the least you can do to ensure you have a definite means of paying the loan back. Like many people have said, its almost ludicrous putting a house on the line, however for any familes willing to do so, get onto a tagged scheme! (just my opinion)

[DavisPalmer]

charliegarner when are you going to Doha to have your meet and greet? I will be very interested to find out how it went! Sounds cool!
GoProPilot yes I need help getting the funds as well... if I decide to do the Qatar course. I will see if I can persuade my bank to grant me a loan.
Oh and charliegarner, how many people have signed up to the Qatar Airways program? Be interested to know thanks!
Im finding it hard to figure out which cadet programme to choose out of the Jetstar and Qatar ones. Qatar sounds awesome, but Jetstar is closer to New Zealand (my home) and is cheaper to fund :/

[limesoda]

I'm not sure off the top of my head to total amount of cadets that applied but on my selection day there were 12 cadets i think, and 4 made it through?

Will PM you on how the meet went and try to scrape any more juicy details on the course for you

[GoProPilot]

Hi Charlie,

Thats very lucky of you. Wish you the best of luck!

I see that your 18, presumably from the UK? bit of a personal question but is there any reason why you didnt apply for the RAF FAA or AAC to be a pilot?

Qatar will be great, A320 then move onto wide body etc TRE Sim instructor career is really set up for you if you do well, rather than start at low cost r/h seat for years and try and get onto longhaul fleet with a national.

[limesoda]

Ah thank you very much. Yes i am very young to be moving out there and to be perfectly honest, very nervous. However feel this will be the best opportunity for employment in the long run.

I actually have little interest in the RAF and did not fancy the lifestyle. I did look into it of course. Would much prefer to have the option of working with a larger team. I admire the multi crew environment for sure - probably why i like the concept of the MPL.

That's my aspiration really. Was always doubtful of going through a large training feeder but having this 'tagged' opportunity seems like a sensible investment. Especially in today's climate.

(Hope I'm not shot for not attempting the RAF route!)

[kmjame]

@DavisPalmer: Like you the Jet* course is appealing and I wouldn't mind at all if I got accepted onto that cadetship. The appeal of Qatar is the housing allowance, paying off the loan seems a whole lot easier when your not hunting for apartments, transport and a few other costs that it doesn't seem Jet* include in the package to cadet pilots. Also the perks of how fast Qatar is growing means the prospects are far greater I believe in Qatar Airways in comparison. But the living aspect of Australia/NZ is much more appealing. Either way an awesome experience.

[squarehole]

Just to point out for those who may be under the illusion that this scheme is better than any other, CTC have not made this clear enough.

"There is no sponsorship for these programmes."
CTC announces Qatar and easyJet MPL programmes | Pilot Career News

Qatar will not pay a single penny towards your training, If you'd be willing to pay that amount of money just to guarantee a job on a mediocre salary, I'd say your mad. Anyone who is considering taking a loan out such as the BBVA offer must also consider that they'll be repaying upwards of £10k a year for a decade just to service the loan. I'd seriously consider looking elsewhere.

[kmjame]

Thanks for that @squarehole and I can see where you are coming from.
Its a decision I have been over with myself most days BUT. Some would also say spending say 1/2 the amount of the Qatar MPL cost, still acquiring a loan, with out a job at the end of it all is just as stupid? Its not so much about the salary. Its the foot in the door every budding pilot wants. Cheers

[DavisPalmer]

Yeah you are definitely right kmjame... it's a tough decision. Talking about salaries... what are the salaries with qatar? Cheers

[JWilliams1]

Hi all,

I am one of the other 3 @charliegarner mentioned so I am also waiting for the meet and greet in Qatar.
On the Phase 2 + 3 selection day, First officer salaries were quoted at $100,000 PA, tax free of course. But this is still to be confirmed as no is yet to see a final employment contract!

[limesoda]

Like Joe said about the salaries, i received a confidential document today and the figure's for the FO salaries are looking pretty tasty. No tax and you definitely have a slightly less taxing period of having to repay the loan.

Then again i think we are all still waiting on the employment contact. I'm sure we will receive relevant documentation in Doha.

[TeaTowel]

The pay will continue to fall of course as more and more of ye show up at the door with £105000 burning a hole in your pocket.

[pilotchute]

Anyone asked why it is an MPL and not a CPL ME-IR that you are doing?

Might have something to do with Qatar then owning you forever? Massive debt hanging over your head and a training background that would make it very hard for other airlines to hire you. MPL is designed to airline specific.

I notice all the quality airlines offer MPL such as Tiger, Jetstar and Air Arabia! Lufthansa being the exception. Emirates, Etihad, Gulf Air, BA and most other big airlines with cadet schemes don't do MPL. Its been around for a while now so if it was so good why isn't everyone doing it?

[Groundloop]

Might have something to do with Qatar then owning you forever? Massive debt hanging over your head and a training background that would make it very hard for other airlines to hire you. MPL is designed to airline specific.

It is only an MPL until you have 1500 hours then you get a full ATPL. Hardly for "forever".

[banjodrone]

Some of you look like you need some practical advice on making the money to fund your training.

I funded my ICAO CPL/ME/IR training from my merchant navy savings. The job I did is obsolete now but it was a good earner. Working on ships is not for everyone but if you can train as a ship's deck or engineer officer you will make the money in a few years. Another alternative is to train as an ROV Pilot/Technician. That's Remotely Operated (underwater) Vehicle, where you learn to "fly" and maintain these expensive pieces of kit in the offshore industry. There are various places offering courses for around 10-15 K or a reduced course if you already have an appropriate technical background. Part 1 of any flight training plan is getting the money together and should be seen as an integral part of the process. The other good thing is that you will have something to fall back on when you're dealt a bad hand.

I'm afraid that's how it is now. If you can't afford the training you need to be prepared to work hard in another industry for a number of years. Remember flight training is a highly competitive industry that is full of commercial sleight of hand. If you go by appearances alone you will get stung at some stage because image rarely lives up to expectations in my experience. Also don't believe half of what you hear because there's a lot of myth and conjecture going around, use your common sense.

[banjodrone]

Anyone asked why it is an MPL and not a CPL ME-IR that you are doing?

Might have something to do with Qatar then owning you forever? Massive debt hanging over your head and a training background that would make it very hard for other airlines to hire you. MPL is designed to airline specific.

I notice all the quality airlines offer MPL such as Tiger, Jetstar and Air Arabia! Lufthansa being the exception. Emirates, Etihad, Gulf Air, BA and most other big airlines with cadet schemes don't do MPL. Its been around for a while now so if it was so good why isn't everyone doing it?

MPL seems to be a step on the road to enable countries without a large aviation infrastructure to train their own pilots. Flight training was dominated by Europe and the US for years for this very reason. Nothing remotely compares to the sheer scale and diversity of aviation in the United States. Europe isn't far behind but it's reached saturation and lacks the flexibility to integrate any more extensive GA training into the already crowded infrastructure. EASA and European National CAA's would like to see their countries flight training industries develop and train more of the world's pilots but they don't want any more light aircraft clogging up the system. This is one of the attractions of MPL. The thing is, when you're using simulators for a huge part of training, shouldn't overall price come down?