With an eye on the future today I went to the Jet2 pilot apprentice open day at Virtual Aviation.
Registration
So the day started with us registering and then going into a room so that we could mingle with the other students. Most students seemed to be at CPL ME IR stage or has recently completed their training.
Being the small world that it is, I actually met someone who actually trained at Cranfield Flying school also, so that was nice.
Presentation
We then went down to a room for a presentation from Jet2. I must say, Jet2 seems to be a really good company to work for and they heavily emphasised that they prefer to promote from within and develop people.
Obviously the pilot apprentice with its bonded type rating is one of the premier schemes in the industry.
The main takeaways I got from this in regards to what Jet2 like to see is the following. They did however say this is all considered on a case by case basis.
- Strong ATPL results.
- Recent flying – They want to see you flying with a decent amount of consistency.
- Jet2 are Independent – Jet2 do not prioritise any schools or training organisations and they said it is best to do your MCC / JOC wherever is best for you.
Talk with captains and pilot apprentices.
We then went up into a room to speak to some current captains and two guys who were on the pilot apprentice scheme. This was a good opportunity to ask about the job and if they could offer any advice.
We were probably in here for 20 mins or so.
The pilots were very passionate about how good Jet2 were to work for and how they seem different from other airlines they have worked for.
Sim Visit
We then went to have a look at Virtual Aviation’s new Boeing 737 sim. I must say, the sim is very impressive.
We had a quick go at handling it which was nice but quite rushed as obviously they had a lot of people to get through.
APS MCC talk
Lastly we had a talk from a very nice Easyjet captain about the APS MCC. I must say the course seems very well designed and quite intense.
The guy leading the course seemed to be very passionate about teaching and really helping you get the best you can from it.
The course is designed to last around 20 days and I believe it costs about £6500.
This is much more than the £2650 that CRM Europe are charging for their MCC / JOC course which is not an APS course or on a Boeing 737 sim.
Ryanair are saying that the APS course is preferred but Jet2 stated to do which course you feel is best for you, so there is a decision to be had there.
All in all it was a good day and I was glad I heard both from Jet2 about the pilot apprentice and from Virtual Aviation about the APS MCC.
