Any advice please - CAE Generation easyJet Pilot Training Programmes
 

Hi everyone,

I hope you’re well and please excuse me for what may seem like silly questions.

I am fortunately now in a financial position following a couple of years in corporate job to pursue a career as a pilot, and I have luckily received my Class 1 medicals.

I am based in South East England, and have visited various flight schools, including those in Oxford, and the best option for me financially is to attend either CAE or L3 in Gatwick. I have asked extensive questions at both schools regarding the actual employment opportunity, and I think that the CAE EasyJet MPL programme is best suited, given its security of a job at the end of it to start a piloting career.

I have been reading reviews and forums, which discusses a lot of the issues during and following COVID, which caused huge issues for students and lost their money, time and job opportunity. I have also read a thread dated November 2023, stating that people have been delayed in to roles due to a huge job pool, and EasyJet having the power to just bin off their commitment at any point, leaving you worse off than having just done an integrated ATPL, which I find equally as risky given theirs little guarantee of a job.

does anybody have any knowledge or advice, now that it’s been a year on, whether this school and programme is actually as it’s stated? Will I pay the cost of the course, get all my exams done to the best of my ability, go abroad for flight training for 7 months, finish off in the UK for a few more months and then be employed at EasyJet? Or is it just a cheaper version of the ATPL, which would leave you worse off?

Any knowledge, advice or experience at this school on this programme would be greatly appreciated before I leave my job and make the financial commitments.

Thank you for your help everyone.

How can going integrated possibly be the best option financially for anybody?!

who said anything about it needing to be financially the best option? Being a little older and looking to fast track your route to a RHS, then integrated is the way to go in my opinion.

Thanks for the response, it’s exactly that. The hours are so bad at my current job that I wouldn’t be able to learn/train effectively. Equally, I want to fast track my way to the RHS and start my career.

Am I correct in saying the modular route is cheaper but takes 4-5 years?

Yep it could, people say you could do it in 2-3, but imo that is for people who have a LOT of free time during the week. I’m in a very similar position to you, I’m 30, tried to do modular while working full time, was a total waste of time working regular 9-5 hours.
I just started an integrated course and it’s way better.
im afraid i cant offer advice in regards to schools though as I am studying in Ireland.

Hmm, this doesn’t tell the whole picture. You can still do modular without having a job..!

18 months is perfectly doable for modular, integrated it all depends on what plans your chosen sausage factory’s accountants have for you. Plenty of people taking upwards of two years to get through on integrated schemes because their shiny schools took more students in than could manage.

OP, financially modular is clearly the better option, and there’s a good chance it will be in terms of timeline as well.

However, if you’re happy to burn the extra £20k to get the same bit of paper, and don’t want to think too much about the logistics of the course and just be guided through it all then there is a place for integrated.

If you do integrated you’ll be wanting to target the ones with actual airline links. Just because a school has a big Virgin Atlantic poster doesn’t mean that the single student who went there did so in 1993, they can still say they are trusted by Virgin to give the flight crew. The easyJet scheme with CAE would be worth considering. If your answer was ‘I’m paying the extra £30k to go to CAE as I want a job with easyJet and I’ve got on this scheme’ then I can’t see how anyone could criticise that.

Skyborne, FTA, Leasing Edge etc, lots of integrated factories churning out cadets to also consider.

I'd suggest the OP takes a look at fully sponsored programmes too, there are some which are due to open in the next couple of months.

I'd recommend getting a Class 1 medical as well since that can be a lengthy process if you need any referrals etc.

Couldn’t agree more with this!

Also gives a good answer to the ‘what have you done so far to achieve your dream’ or similar question when you’ve spent £500 and a day of your life going to Gatwick to get a medical rather than simply answering ‘I ❤️ planes’

Absolutely not. Modular is the fastest way to get qualified if you are good and if you train somewhere with good weather and good aircraft availability - because you can go at your own pace without a classroom of people slowing you down. It also happens to be the cheapest.

Financially speaking I'd go modular. I'd avoid the famous integrated schools, nothing more than money rackets and the quality of the training is no better. The rapid pace of training is also an illusion, they will slow it down when they need to, and they have. Myself I incurred 6+ months in delays .. you will notice your training contract is all to their benefit and none to yours (the customer!).

Don't just go anywhere though, stay reputable. Diamond academy, bartolini etc are your best bets and perhaps BGS distant learning for the ground school. I know for a fact the likes of Ryanair keep a file on each school and whether or not their graduates have turned out to be worthwhile.

I wouldn't commit myself to any single airline Scheme (and especially not with CAE). Easyjet for example dumped all their cadets in covid, then CAE wouldn't even allow them to finish their training as "whitetails" .. not without demanding a King's ransom, arguing they were MPLs. Despite them only having been at ground school stage (which mirrors the ATPL whitetail). Jerez eventually stepped in to help them at a more reasonable price.

You aren't particularly late, yet you also haven't got much time to waste, so I'd get moving in a modular way and keeping all options open. Ryanair absolutely will be recruiting cadets again by the time you finish.

Sound advice. I approve this message 👍

First of all get a Class One medical.

#1... Get on a sponsored scheme, remember it's not really free!
#2....go full time Modular, or easyJet/CAE scheme by the time you're sat in RHS of a shiny jet, it will cost the same.
#3... Integrated, but be very careful.

Good luck!
I sent you a private message .... Opening poster

Hi,
I'm in a similar situation. Currently in my 30s and been exploring options in the past couple of years. I started the modular route, but difficult to manage with a full time job etc. Last year, I was fortunately to get through to the assessment centre stage for Tui. Unfortunately, I didn't make it to the final stage, but will definitely apply again in January. I have come across the CAE Generation easyjet Pilot Training Programme, and have similar Qs to you. Would be great to hear if you have applied to the scheme and what your experience has been so far in these early stages. I don't think it will let me reach out privately, as you have to write 3 posts before privately messaging someone - unless there is a way to email someone directly? Apologies, always nervous about writing on forums for some reason ( I don't know why!).

The Tui Cadet scheme for 2025 has opened again this month. Best of luck to all those applying.

Your career may not start in the RHS of anything. Needing to become a flight instructor or GA pilot is a real possibility. There are no guarantees there is no fast track.

it could take you 2-3 years it could take you 10-20 to get that airline job. It might never happen.

no one can tell you otherwise. They can only give their experience and all the other airline pilots they know.