British Airways Direct Entry Pilot
Joined: Apr 2024
Posts: 10
Likes: 0
From: London
Joined: Jun 2020
Posts: 183
Likes: 41
From: UK
Full time? Unpaid or parental leave? AVCs or salary sacrifice car/bicycle?
pp15 LH FO with 6% pension removed is (basic salary only) £107.4k which is takehome £5950.
Even if you were on annual leave the whole month you would be over my quoted 6100 as it attracts flight pay.
I suspect your payslip has some voluntary outgoings if you ever see something less than 6100.
pp15 LH FO with 6% pension removed is (basic salary only) £107.4k which is takehome £5950.
Even if you were on annual leave the whole month you would be over my quoted 6100 as it attracts flight pay.
I suspect your payslip has some voluntary outgoings if you ever see something less than 6100.
Joined: Dec 2016
Posts: 123
Likes: 9
From: UK
On PP15 you’re going to be on the PP24 scale so actual basic is more like £133k, so a take home of about £6500 after tax and pension with zero flying. Must be part time or bunging a lot into the pension.
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 66
Likes: 25
From: UK
Full time, 1 car, normal pension contribution, small AVC
Our wonderful tax system meant that last month I took home about £5900, this month about £6100 with a normal month of flying, no overtime. A new entrant will be earning nothing like that unless you’re doing lots of over time. If you are taking that home at PP1 then expect that tax man to come knocking very soon and, like the rest of us, you’ll quickly realise extra work is pointless as it all gets taken away from you.
Our wonderful tax system meant that last month I took home about £5900, this month about £6100 with a normal month of flying, no overtime. A new entrant will be earning nothing like that unless you’re doing lots of over time. If you are taking that home at PP1 then expect that tax man to come knocking very soon and, like the rest of us, you’ll quickly realise extra work is pointless as it all gets taken away from you.
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 163
Likes: 18
From: London
Joined: Jan 2017
Posts: 18
Likes: 3
From: Europe
Full time, 1 car, normal pension contribution, small AVC
Our wonderful tax system meant that last month I took home about £5900, this month about £6100 with a normal month of flying, no overtime. A new entrant will be earning nothing like that unless you’re doing lots of over time. If you are taking that home at PP1 then expect that tax man to come knocking very soon and, like the rest of us, you’ll quickly realise extra work is pointless as it all gets taken away from you.
Our wonderful tax system meant that last month I took home about £5900, this month about £6100 with a normal month of flying, no overtime. A new entrant will be earning nothing like that unless you’re doing lots of over time. If you are taking that home at PP1 then expect that tax man to come knocking very soon and, like the rest of us, you’ll quickly realise extra work is pointless as it all gets taken away from you.
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 995
Likes: 100
From: Botswana
£6,100 is a perfectly reasonable net take home estimate for a year one LH P2. I’m in the process of considering a move to the U.K. due to being utterly naffed off with commuting so believe me I’ve done the sums religiously with hours spent on ChatGpt, listentotaxman etc sizing it all up.
Subconsciously and somewhat unsurprisingly people tend to anchor their estimates to their lowest payed months.
Subconsciously and somewhat unsurprisingly people tend to anchor their estimates to their lowest payed months.
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 250
Likes: 14
From: UK
Full time, 1 car, normal pension contribution, small AVC
Our wonderful tax system meant that last month I took home about £5900, this month about £6100 with a normal month of flying, no overtime. A new entrant will be earning nothing like that unless you’re doing lots of over time. If you are taking that home at PP1 then expect that tax man to come knocking very soon and, like the rest of us, you’ll quickly realise extra work is pointless as it all gets taken away from you.
Our wonderful tax system meant that last month I took home about £5900, this month about £6100 with a normal month of flying, no overtime. A new entrant will be earning nothing like that unless you’re doing lots of over time. If you are taking that home at PP1 then expect that tax man to come knocking very soon and, like the rest of us, you’ll quickly realise extra work is pointless as it all gets taken away from you.
You got a Taycan or something on Tusker?
I have a Tusker car and I still haven’t been less than £5200 for a long time. Usually im between £5500-£6100 as a SH PP4!!! And that’s with £400 going to student loan as well.
Joined: Dec 2016
Posts: 123
Likes: 9
From: UK
Full time, 1 car, normal pension contribution, small AVC
Our wonderful tax system meant that last month I took home about £5900, this month about £6100 with a normal month of flying, no overtime. A new entrant will be earning nothing like that unless you’re doing lots of over time. If you are taking that home at PP1 then expect that tax man to come knocking very soon and, like the rest of us, you’ll quickly realise extra work is pointless as it all gets taken away from you.
Our wonderful tax system meant that last month I took home about £5900, this month about £6100 with a normal month of flying, no overtime. A new entrant will be earning nothing like that unless you’re doing lots of over time. If you are taking that home at PP1 then expect that tax man to come knocking very soon and, like the rest of us, you’ll quickly realise extra work is pointless as it all gets taken away from you.
Joined: Dec 2019
Posts: 14
Likes: 0
From: London
Hi,
Any recent feedback on the Assessment Day for Direct Entry Pilot long haul. I've been booked for next week. Any advise on what to expect, especially the aptitude tests etc. Whats the best preparation software/package out there and how accurate or helpful was it. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you in advance 😊
Any recent feedback on the Assessment Day for Direct Entry Pilot long haul. I've been booked for next week. Any advise on what to expect, especially the aptitude tests etc. Whats the best preparation software/package out there and how accurate or helpful was it. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you in advance 😊
Joined: Mar 2026
Aviation Qualifications: ATPL
Posts: 3
Likes: 2
From: UK
Hey Everyone!
Have found this forum incredibly helpful and really appreciate all the posts people have made - from salary info to interview prep.
For anyone new to this forum, I can only recommend starting at Page 1 and working your way up. There is a lot of valuable information in here and, rather than asking for information from the get go, just take the time to read through the whole forum and take notes as you go along. Very little has changed with the process. One thing to note is that from this year, BA have said they may start to do Psych tests as part of the interview process. It was mentioned in one of their online expression of interest campaigns in Jan this year.
I do want to also recommend one company that I used and felt really gave me an edge, and that was Flight Deck Wingman. They're a UK based company and approach things very differently. Rather than give you tip offs, they focus on building the core competencies that are inevitably assessed. Worth every penny! They've been mentioned a couple time on here too.
SimPrep are also a great resource if you're looking for a fixed base sim to get a feel for things, but a home computer set up will also serve you well to get your scan back in and practice raw data flying if you cant get there or can't afford it.
Prep software that I found excellent and far superior to SkyTest was PilotAssesment.com. Their software is brilliant and, although not identical, it's far more representitive of the Eagle Test. Skytest, in my opinion, is outdated and who ever runs it, dropped the ball a long time ago.
Good luck!
Have found this forum incredibly helpful and really appreciate all the posts people have made - from salary info to interview prep.
For anyone new to this forum, I can only recommend starting at Page 1 and working your way up. There is a lot of valuable information in here and, rather than asking for information from the get go, just take the time to read through the whole forum and take notes as you go along. Very little has changed with the process. One thing to note is that from this year, BA have said they may start to do Psych tests as part of the interview process. It was mentioned in one of their online expression of interest campaigns in Jan this year.
I do want to also recommend one company that I used and felt really gave me an edge, and that was Flight Deck Wingman. They're a UK based company and approach things very differently. Rather than give you tip offs, they focus on building the core competencies that are inevitably assessed. Worth every penny! They've been mentioned a couple time on here too.
SimPrep are also a great resource if you're looking for a fixed base sim to get a feel for things, but a home computer set up will also serve you well to get your scan back in and practice raw data flying if you cant get there or can't afford it.
Prep software that I found excellent and far superior to SkyTest was PilotAssesment.com. Their software is brilliant and, although not identical, it's far more representitive of the Eagle Test. Skytest, in my opinion, is outdated and who ever runs it, dropped the ball a long time ago.
Good luck!
Joined: Mar 2026
Aviation Qualifications: PPL
Posts: 5
Likes: 0
From: UK
Anyone know what BACF is like?
Last edited by spdbrdcdt2025; 12th March 2026 at 07:42.
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 1,305
Likes: 35
From: Vietnam
Hey Everyone!
Have found this forum incredibly helpful and really appreciate all the posts people have made - from salary info to interview prep.
For anyone new to this forum, I can only recommend starting at Page 1 and working your way up. There is a lot of valuable information in here and, rather than asking for information from the get go, just take the time to read through the whole forum and take notes as you go along. Very little has changed with the process. One thing to note is that from this year, BA have said they may start to do Psych tests as part of the interview process. It was mentioned in one of their online expression of interest campaigns in Jan this year.
I do want to also recommend one company that I used and felt really gave me an edge, and that was Flight Deck Wingman. They're a UK based company and approach things very differently. Rather than give you tip offs, they focus on building the core competencies that are inevitably assessed. Worth every penny! They've been mentioned a couple time on here too.
SimPrep are also a great resource if you're looking for a fixed base sim to get a feel for things, but a home computer set up will also serve you well to get your scan back in and practice raw data flying if you cant get there or can't afford it.
Prep software that I found excellent and far superior to SkyTest was PilotAssesment.com. Their software is brilliant and, although not identical, it's far more representitive of the Eagle Test. Skytest, in my opinion, is outdated and who ever runs it, dropped the ball a long time ago.
Good luck!
Have found this forum incredibly helpful and really appreciate all the posts people have made - from salary info to interview prep.
For anyone new to this forum, I can only recommend starting at Page 1 and working your way up. There is a lot of valuable information in here and, rather than asking for information from the get go, just take the time to read through the whole forum and take notes as you go along. Very little has changed with the process. One thing to note is that from this year, BA have said they may start to do Psych tests as part of the interview process. It was mentioned in one of their online expression of interest campaigns in Jan this year.
I do want to also recommend one company that I used and felt really gave me an edge, and that was Flight Deck Wingman. They're a UK based company and approach things very differently. Rather than give you tip offs, they focus on building the core competencies that are inevitably assessed. Worth every penny! They've been mentioned a couple time on here too.
SimPrep are also a great resource if you're looking for a fixed base sim to get a feel for things, but a home computer set up will also serve you well to get your scan back in and practice raw data flying if you cant get there or can't afford it.
Prep software that I found excellent and far superior to SkyTest was PilotAssesment.com. Their software is brilliant and, although not identical, it's far more representitive of the Eagle Test. Skytest, in my opinion, is outdated and who ever runs it, dropped the ball a long time ago.
Good luck!
Is this a paid advertisement?
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 648
Likes: 74
From: uk
This might be about to change. I’ve just been told that the offerings later this year would be BA(LHR) BACF(LCY) or BAEF(LGW). I raised a query about this and was told that we signed up for British Airways and the base will be decided depending on where the needed is at the time.
Anyone know what BACF is like?
Anyone know what BACF is like?
Last edited by eagle21; 11th March 2026 at 23:40.
Joined: Mar 2026
Aviation Qualifications: PPL
Posts: 5
Likes: 0
From: UK
Joined: Jan 2025
Aviation Qualifications: SLF
Posts: 166
Likes: 137
From: Mars
Is this BA trying to inject some humility, to prevent the next groups attempting to hold them hostage over their base?
From my reading of the contract it was always a possibility that BA could send them to CF. and that path was made legally possible. It was just unlikely.
From my reading of the contract it was always a possibility that BA could send them to CF. and that path was made legally possible. It was just unlikely.