Wizzair Pilot training question
 

Hi all! I've a pretty important question. I have been selected for the next stage of the Wizz Air CTC aviation. I am not sure whether to go ahead with the phase. I am kind of in two minds of what to do in terms of career just in this particular moment. But what's more concerning is the cost of the selection phase of £245 and the cost of the training which is obviously staggering with just a return of E20,000 plus sector pay. However this is a good salary when living in the likes of Warsaw where I believe you are to be based. Is this worth going for? is it an opportunity to snatch at or are there always going to be pilot programs coming along?


Please advise


Many Thanks


Ameen Jabbar

I would not try to advise on this. It is for you to determine whether you want to take this route, or not. All I can say is that "someone very close to me" joined Wizz as a 320 first officer. He had already flown for on DH8s for 18 months & wanted to get a jet rating. He got this from Wizz, but had to repay 1000 Euros per month for it. He stayed 18 months with Wizz, so had paid back about 18000 Euros. He then had to pay back an additional 4000 Euros when he left. So, all told, he paid back 22000 Euros for his EA32 Type Rating. So, that doesn't seem so bad as he moved on to a much better paying & more acceptable job with a UK based airline.
His salary was 19000 Euros pa. & he was based in Vilnius. This salary was nowhere near being acceptable on a long term basis &, with paying off his loan for his ATPL, the cost of living expenses & paying back the cost of his rating, left him nothing each month.
I believe that this is not only unfair, but is also an insult to people with such a high profile & responsible job as commercial pilots. But, it's the way that certain LCCs operate, & there's no shortage of aspiring pilots who will accept this pittance.
For you; you have to decide if this training scheme & the associated salary is worth enduring for a while whilst you build up your hours before moving on to another airline which respects its pilots better. Only you can decide this, & I hope that this information helps you to decide what is best for you. Even at this lamentable salary it is possible to live, pay back the cost of the rating & pay back the loan from the bank. But, it takes discipline & determination. Hopefully, this won't last for too long & you can move on to better things.
I can't imagine that Warsaw would be very much cheaper than Vilnius, so you will have the same problems that he had, but they are not insurmountable.
Good luck. Keith

Thanks for that mate, though I still haven't decided!