I was definately paid from day one of joining ryanair while training ( Im an experienced FO on Ryanair contract) so was everyone else apart from brookfield contractors etc who only get paid from flying and the cadets who I believe are paid when they start line training

Just for the record - and mainly for those thinking of joining Ryanair - I absolutely stand by what I said above, which is that there are a substantial number of pilots, both highly experienced and inexperienced, who are "employed" by Ryanair (at THIS moment) but not being paid. In many cases they have remained without pay for many many months, even though they paid "up front" for a type rating.

The fact that two contributors above have made statements to the contrary (both written in general "everybody" terms) does not mean that they are right. It only means that, as usual with Ryanair, there are no generally true statements that can be made. Some people do better than others, depending upon circumstances.

It also tells us that Ryanair increasingly has to make some concessions to market conditions.

Wise applicants to Ryanair would do well to take the warnings seriously and make sure that Ryanair provides them with all promises and undertakings IN WRITING BEFORE they sign anything. This was always good advice and will always be good advice when dealing with Ryanair.

So how does someone go directly with RyanAir, instead of Brookfield. I applied on the RyanAir website and the interview offer I got was from Brookfield. Looking at the comments here I am thinking that it would be best to turn them down.

Ironwalt Brookfield is, for all practical purposes, Ryanair. Except for you. This is the same trick they use with the cabin crew, which is to use intermediary organisations to employ and train people on different terms and conditions. Very good for them, especially in P.R. and legal terms. The fact that an application to Ryanair ends up with a Brookfield offer tells you all you need to know.

Rhood what you say is undoubtedly true. But it does not change the reality for those who are not being paid. If you are not being paid the typical Ryanair argument that it has "nothing to do with them" is absolute codswallop.

All the signs are that Brookfield is the means used to achieve the non-payment of Ryanair pilots. But nobody should be in any doubt that there is not much difference between the two organisations in practice.

Some info for you
 

Three of ten F/O's I have flown with recently are leaving . The same goes for Captains .
Majority of A/L applications of people I know have been denied and there is no Loss Of Licence Insurance any more .
So , once again , read carefully all the info here or somewhere else before making your decisions . Don't be fooled by advert even if it appeares on this site .
Good luck! :ok: