Easyjet Recruitment

[Thad Jarvis]

You can expect more 6 month appointments followed by the scrap heap in easyJet too. There isn't much expansion next year so not enough space for all these wannabes. I'm surprised nobody has put Trading Standards onto CTC for selling a myth. I wouldn't be surprised if the EJ/CTC relationship becomes tenuous either in the coming months. I hear Balpa have legal plans afoot over flexi-slaves.

[Man Flex]

It is highly unlikely that an enthusiastic young person, who has dreamed of becoming an airline pilot and who has supportive parents that are wealthy enough to be able to help out financially, is going to be dissuaded by anything that is written on PPRuNe.

However it is clear that all future graduating courses will not only be offered only the eight month training contract (and nothing more) but will be gradually superceded by the MPL cadets from OAT.

Vacancies at easyJet, for the forseeable future, will only arise through attrition. The numbers of new graduates who will reach the dizzy heights of "flexi-crew" will be very few and far between indeed.

[vikdream]

As far as I am concerned there's only one CP of OAA MPL cadets and they are starting their TR the following Spring...

I am sure EZY will need more than 12/24 pilots a year, and I am sure many of them will be offered more than the 8 months training contract, as it has happened before (not always, but more often than what many people here).

[Alexander de Meerkat]

My understanding is that 2012/13 will be a poor year for recruitment but 2013/14 will be much improved. There are also many unknowns between now and then - expansion plans (if any), attrition, BA recruitment etc. There are currently a number of our Captains working out their notice to go to Virgin Atlantic and Emirates. Whilst these are not enormous numbers, the trickle is there and I would expect that to increase rather than decrease. Underlying all this is a battle over the future of flexicrew which is being fought out behind the scenes between the Union and Management. There are, therefore, many permutations which make recruitment plans difficult, if not impossible, to predict.

[average-punter]

Ecam and vik: There are 4 MPL courses

[student88]

..and 10 joining through an internal sponsorship programme.

[no sponsor]

For those hoping to do a bit of time as slave-labour at EZY, and then apply to BA are going to be very disappointed. The current annual bid results show that we are seriously over-crewed due to the BMI merger. The Airbus SH fleet is over-crewed, along with a few of the LH fleets. There are a handful of spaces reserved for FPP cadets, but no DEP recruitment on the horizon during 2013.

I take it from the video the reason why they had the Emirates guy there is to mitigate the concerns of what happens when EZY let their cadets go, but I do believe you need 2,500hrs in a jet. Anyone actually believe that guy looks through CVs, when they have an online application form eh? He must be up for retirement soon.

You really want to spend the next 35 years working in the sandpit?

CTC have completely ruined the career as an airline pilot in the UK. It sounds as though they are out to do the same in other parts of the world.

[Craggenmore]

You really want to spend the next 35 years working in the sandpit?

If you enjoy it out here then yes!....although at my age it won't be anywhere near 35 years.

Eternal golf in the sun, wonderful.

You really want to spend the next 35 years working in the grey drizzle, being stuck on the M25?

I've done both - have you?

[no sponsor]

Yes, I have worked and lived in the Sandpit, although in a more punitive state than the UAE. It's the people in their big leather chairs with fancy offices which end up driving you insane, as well as the three or four tier social and legal system.

It's only grey and dull up to 6000ft or so. The sun was shining last month too.

[Bishop of Hounslow]

turbine 100 - your description of your mate who was laid off for the winter brought tears to my eyes. Yours is only one very limited perspective however. By going bankrupt when he clearly did not need to do so he has stuffed a whole generation of future pilots by the ultimate application of the, 'Its all about me' principle. Here is a young guy who knowingly takes on a loan for £100k with HSBC or someone, and goes into the airline game knowing all the risks. He then gets a type-rating on the Airbus plus a few hundred hours before being given a few months off. Every other guy in his position worked in the Co-Op, bars, fast food restaurants, Tescos etc and just hung in there. Not your boy. He played the system and got before some numpties at a bankruptcy hearing to convince them he had no money or any likelihood of getting any. Surprise, surprise and a few months later he has his rating renewed, a new job and flying Airbuses again. Great news though - no debt! By doing what he has done he has stuffed countless people from less well off backgrounds who had no rich parents but were desperate to get into aviation. HSBC understandably pulled the plug when they saw what could happen and now only rich kids get into flying. That is truly the ultimate, 'I'm all right Jack' story.

[jb5000]

Every other guy in his position worked in the Co-Op, bars, fast food restaurants, Tescos etc and just hung in there

A very naive position I'm afraid.

To repay that level of debt and actually afford to rent a room, keep a car, buy food etc you would need at least a £30k - £35k job. Very very difficult if it's clear on your CV that you would be out the door at the first sniff of a flying job. Have you seen the state of the economy these days? It's actually difficult to get a job *anywhere*:

Graduate salaries down on previous year

None of these guys were particularly excited about going bankrupt - you can pay as much as you like per month into the HSBC unsecured loan but at 6 months arrears (so about £6,000) they sold your debt to a collection agency. This would eventually lead to bankruptcy.

Note that easyJet choosing to stop their traditional route (6 months on £1,000pm and then onto a cadet scale but then £1,000pm tax free) was the death of the unsecured loan - and of any decent route into easyJet.

If anybody asked me how to become an airline pilot these days I would say either:

1) Do the BA FPP scheme and go to Jerez because it's significantly sunnier than The Tron!

2) Don't do it. It's a futile exercise pandering to a company's whim with no respect whatsoever in the opposite direction. You're plain and simply an unfortunate cost to be managed.

[ROSCO328]

I do hope all you hopefuls/dreamers are paying attention to the recent Balpa video message!!

[R T Jones]

Balpa Video Message

Indeed, it is a very interesting watch for prospective pilots, current pilots and the general public.

[Superpilot]

easyJet recruitment 2013

What's the outlook like for the coming year then? I see both PARC and CTC are still advertising quite keenly.

[Thad Jarvis]

Grim unless you want to be a contractor for several years. Avoid.
Crew are great but Management are Ryanair.. Only worse. They want to beat Ryanair at their own game and will stop at nothing to drag ezy into that gutter.
Avoid.

[Superpilot]

OK, that's granted but would you say there is a genuine man-power issue regardless of the fact that the powers that be are trying their best to increase the Contractor vs Perm employee ratio? Would appreciate an honest answer to that. Thanks

[Thad Jarvis]

They have !!!! Portuguese contracts in both seats a la Ryanair. They use Parc in the same manner as Ryanair use Brookfield. They will impose new entrant contracts that look nothing like those currently in existence. Their management aspire to Ryanair. They will ring fence existing expensive crews and have them marginalised within a few years. It looks feels and carries the unsavoury smell of Ryanair to me. Wake up- it's happening under your nose.

[ROSCO328]

When are you idiots out there gonna get it!! Easy want you to pay them to fly there a/c!!. Easy is no longer an airline you should cut your hand off to join. As a new start you will be treated like !!!! and get fired to anywhere in order for them to save a quid!. Flew with an fo the other day who had been moved base 4 times in 2 years,late 40's, 3 kids and 12,000hrs. STAY AWAY!!!

[naturals]

In light of the easyJet MPL scheme which is currently recruiting 72 pilots (link to the pprune thread here), would any of those who have knowledge be kind enough to post an update on the flexicrew position at easyJet. Have things improved at all? Are they producing a changed agreement?

Basically is the MPL scheme the best thing since sliced bread or like a lamb to the slaughter (where the slaughterhouse charge £100k for the privilege)?

[Polorutz]

naturals, I work for easy.

As far as I've been seeing, the MPL guys are in a totally different boat than the fATPLs.

They train using our SOPs from really early on and the training dept has taken a keen interest on them.

I do not know their contract status IE: I don't know if they're EZY employees or contractors.