With the exception of the RAF, places like Hamble (back in the day many years ago) and (before 9/11) OAT, yes I agree. And this forms a fundamental part of my argument. Its costly enough to do the ATPL basic training, let alone the almost mandatory requirement for an SSTR....

Absolutely nothing, nada, zilch mate. I was told that I would have to go out, search out that first illusive job, and really sell myself to get it. That job might have been para dropping, banner towing, instructing or Air Taxi - it was called working your way up the ladder.

Err...23 grand is quite a lot of leverage in my opinion.

And why is that? Because one day, really not that long ago, some guy somewhere said "hey, I'll finance my own type if you hire me..." He dropped the ball on that day and its been rolling downhill ever since...

Well said bonernow. But it is not too late to change things.

Spot on Bonernow..

If the moaners want to check the thread on DHL in Iraq, perhaps they would realise just how cushy Ryanair is !

I'd still take DHL over FR any day. :p

Now why would I not be surprised at that taking your username into account :rolleyes:

FR base
 

Ryanair base preference
Did any one out there get one of their 3 base preferences for FR?


?????????????????????

So it's better than getting shot at in Iraq, must be cushy so :rolleyes:

Well Camel if you don't like RYR, then feel free to go and get shot at. If you have nothing else to contribute, why do you continue to troll?

Horgy

That sort of attitude drives me nuts.

Why should someone leave a company if they aren't happy? Why not stay and try to make things better, rather than just bailing out at the first opportunity.

The standard Pprune call of "why don't you just leave" is purile, facile and totally devoid of any merit as an argument.

Some people care about the company and people they work with and want to make things better. How would leaving achieve that goal?

Please come up with something that moves the debate on rather than just resorting to name calling and other tactics that most adults left in the school yard.

Why not try telling us about the "initial outlay" !?? Does anyone police this site anymore. It has gone majorly downhill in some sections.

pressman, amongst others, is under the very mistaken impression that Brookfield contract pilots are not liable for tax. Believe me and the others who have posted here and elsewhere, you are liable for tax in the country where you derive the majority of your income, no matter what your nationality or domicile happens to be.
Brookfield, along with other contracting companies in the EU, have already been investigated and individuals who are on their books will be required to pay tax in the not too distant future. It is only a matter of time before ALL contractors in the EU will be paying the tax due to the Revenue at the appropriate rate. Not only that, unpaid tax on previous income up to seven years will also be collected. Individuals could also be liable to penalty payments decided by the Revenue, without recourse to appeal, if payments are not made on time.
Keep your head in the sand if you feel lucky, otherwise I would recommend talking to an accountant, soon.

I was wondering if anyone had any experience on the Brookfields deal - is it a good option to use an umbrella company rather than going self employed? This is the way I did things when IT Contracting, and it made life so much easier.
Also, under Brookfields can you claim back expenses such as petrol, meals etc, and offset them against your tax?

Cheers

S-B-D,

I'm under the impression with such arrangements any expensives you could prove were incurred due to that business would be claimable - items such as petrol, food at the airport, ID pass, parking, etc should all be tax deductable.

That's not tax advice incidentally - although i wonder why so many people keep silent about their own arrangements, i'd be very interested to hear what people have worked out.

Horgy

Very well said, thats shut alot of people up.

I'm half way through my atpls and the REALITY of the situation is that ryanair looks to be the best option for me, self funded type rating and all. In this industry thats future is so dependant on the global economy, & the price of oil i feel like i need to get my foot in the door and start climbing the ladder ASAP. If things do go downhill a few years from now id rather be in a situation where i have 5000 jet hours instead of 2000 cessna hours.

For all those people ****ting on young guys like me for considering self funding a type rating, i say pull your head out of your ass and wake the **** up. What is the alternative? Perhaps you would prefer me to not get a job and go back to my 9-5 life 80 grand in debt?

I totally agree with the above quoted poster - where were all you moaners when self funded type ratings were introduced? Dont blame people like me for your t & c's being degraded, its simply the unfortunate reality of the modern low cost aviation industry.

FlyingOfficerKite It's really, seriously, annoying when you spend the time to reply in detail, step by step and write a response to someone's question, that takes 15-20 minutes, only to find that they haven't even bothered to wait for a reply and cut and pasted the question on another thread.:ugh::{

So, if i work with a brookfield contract and have a job offer with another company, i have a notice period of 3 months and paying a fee of 2500eur to brookfield?

Correct???

only if you did your initial assesment through Brookfield

It's all well and good for experienced older pilots to sit on here pontificating and slagging off pilots who pay for type ratings, but when nobody else is recruiting pilots with low hours, what the hell else are people supposed to do?

My OH has paid for a type rating and I am FURIOUS that people are slagging him off for it. He is a fantastic, dedicated pilot who had to get through so much before he even got to an interview with Ryanair.

People know before the interview they will have to pay for a type rating with Ryanair, but it's not just the fact they have 23k burning a hole in their pocket that they get past the first interview stage, not just anyone can stroll in and get a job. Two other interviewees didn't get onto the type rating course although they had the money to pay for it.

People slag off Ryanair, but I can tell you that

1) He has a set roster so we know when he is working
2) He has a huge amount of hours already
3) He is flying a brand new 737 around Europe
4) If he hadn't have paid for his type rating he would still be sitting in an office wondering why he had gone through 2 years of college, Instrument ratings etc etc.

It's a step on the ladder, unfortunately, just being a good pilot or knowing the right people won't get you your first a job as a pilot anymore.

Sad but true.

So stop slagging off people who pay for type ratings, I can promise you that anyone who has had to fork out for one would much rather have spent the money on something else.

Nobody would pay out so much money just on a whim......they do it because they are passionate about flying and need a break.

Miss Flossy

Don't get too emotional now please.