Commercial Pilot Training

Hi,

I am sitting my A-levels this summer and so was like everyone else, looking for a university place and future career prospects. I have always wanted to be a pilot and have tried to pursue my dream multiple times. Anyway, in March I applied to Oxford Aviation Academy in the hope of getting onto the Generation easyJet pilot programme. All-in-all, I received my final result two weeks ago saying that I had been successful. I had passed three stages of selection and have been chosen by easyJet themselves to go through a rigorous training programme at Oxford Aviation Academy.
The point behind this post is to encourage people thinking of going to university to follow their dream. I have had my schools careers department on my back for months on end trying to get me to apply for a higher apprenticeship or university. After appeasing the careers department, I was spurred-on to apply for this course. I also wanted to reach out to any other budding aviation enthusiast or pilot that wants/needs advice about joining such a school and the processes that are involved with the pursuit of such a career.

Thanks!

How much is it going to cost?

And what are the entry requirements?

Hi,

Thanks for the question. The course with easyJet usually costs around £100,000 and depending on your assessment performance, this can be subsidized. there are other courses available such as the Virgin Atlantic Future Pilot Scheme and the Aer Lingus Pilot Scheme where there is an opportunity for cadets to have their loans completely underwritten. I realize the cost of the course is 'stupid' and I am currently working on how to get such funds myself.

As for entry requirements, you need at least 5 x C's and above in your GCSE's or equivalent and at least 2 x C's at A-level or equivalent.

I hope this helped

What's the interview process like?

Do you need any other tests?

The interview process is tough. I have written about the first two stages on my blog - www.pilotkalv.com - but otherwise, there are numerous criteria they look for. All together, there are three stages of selection -

1) Application
2) Aptitude Testing (Mental Maths ability, Spatial Awareness, Visual reasoning and Hand-Eye coordination etc)
3) Competency Based Interview (Both a Group Stage and an Individual Interview)

You need to be able to pass a Class 1 Medical exam - all requirements are found here - https://www.caa.co.uk/Commercial-industry/Pilot-licences/Applications/Medical/Apply-for-a-Class-1-medical-certificate/

On a slightly unrelated note, I'm not sure it's worth it. I used to want to be one, but it costs 100-150k in training and even when you get a job you're only on 30-40k. That's if you can even get a job.

You only get to 100k+ with 15-20 years experience with a big airline.

Hi,

This is something I am actually thinking of applying for once I graduate university, and I was wondering about the level of maths/physics on the aptitude tests? I haven't studied either since GCSE, and my degree is in Japanese, so I haven't had any exposure to science subjects in quite a long time lol. Also, with regards to funding, what do people usually do to raise £100,000, as I can't imagine many people have that sort of money available? Is the training fully sponsored or is the only option to get a loan from the likes of BBVA (which has to be secured against a property)? The last question I have is what would you suggest I do to increase my chances of making it on to such a competitive course? I've still got 3 years left of uni, so any advice on the sorts of things I could do would be greatly appreciated! Sorry for all the questions but thanks in advance!!

Hi,

Thanks for the question. The course with easyJet usually costs around £100,000 and depending on your assessment performance, this can be subsidized. there are other courses available such as the Virgin Atlantic Future Pilot Scheme and the Aer Lingus Pilot Scheme where there is an opportunity for cadets to have their loans completely underwritten. I realize the cost of the course is 'stupid' and I am currently working on how to get such funds myself.

As for entry requirements, you need at least 5 x C's and above in your GCSE's or equivalent and at least 2 x C's at A-level or equivalent.

I hope this helped

On a slightly unrelated note, I'm not sure it's worth it. I used to want to be one, but it costs 100-150k in training and even when you get a job you're only on 30-40k. That's if you can even get a job.

You only get to 100k+ with 15-20 years experience with a big airline.

Wait, so airline pilots responsible for hundreds of lives are potentially C-grade students on 30k per annum?

That's a bit scary!

Thanks for the question.
It can be quite difficult to raise funds, but there are options out there for prospective candidates with difficulties. I would personally wait for a cadet programme to open which provides an underwriting service such as British Airways or Aer Lingus, but these are incredibly competitive. In terms of increasing your chances, I would recommend looking over some GCSE style maths and physics questions as well as keeping your mental arithmetic skills at a level where you are reasonably competent. Other than that, the main skills a lot of flight training organisations and airlines look out for are - leadership, communication, decision making, and a lot of cognitive ones such as hand-eye coordination etc.

Thank you for your reply! Good luck at OAA

Thank you! I wish you luck with your studies and I hope you are able to fulfil your wish of joining the aviation industry

Hi there, im currently about to start A-Levels next year and this is the route I would like to take. I know the funding can be quite hard to raise but at this point i'm just trying to get as much under my belt as possible, which will look good towards me. Is there anything that you can recommend doing, or studying which will give me a better chance for when i will apply in roughly around 2 years?

Thanks

Hi!
Great question. One thing that I believe really benefited me was getting a part-time job. I know for A-level students it may be hard depending on what subjects you do and how demanding they are, but it can really help to be able to give 'real world' examples of when you have given good customer service or had to deal with a difficult situation etc. My part-time job also helped me improve my confidence and how I came across when speaking to people. Therefore, I would thoroughly recommend getting both work experience of any kind, as well as a part-time job if possible.

Good luck!

Thanks! I'm currently doing my GCSE's but was planning on getting a part time job after they were done! I'm just trying to put on as much as I can really, just not sure what will aid me on my CV. I've been looking at work experience within the aviation sector and so far to no avail. I've been writing to the likes of Swissport, Monarch Aircraft Engineering and a few others but all say that due to the nature of the work environment, you have to be over 18. Was looking at trying to find a placement for this summer so ill just continue looking

As for the finance part of the course, can you elaborate on how that works. I have attended an open day at OAA last year however I was still unsure about the funding on the different cadet programmes. With the Easyjet one, I know it's just over 100K (GOSH). My understanding is that you fund this yourself. The thing that i'm confused about is do you get the money reimbursed once you start employment?

Thanks

It is great to see that you are going out of your way to get aviation related work experience, I found this difficult too.

The finance situation is fairly straightforward. For OAA you will need to pay a maximum of £125,900 for the ATPL easyJet course not including living expenses. Other schools vary and depending on your course and route through the school, it may also change. As for paying the loan back, easyJet looks after their cadets and they start on the line as Second Officers. The salary of an SO is ~40k for the first few years and then you get upgraded to FO when they deem the time to be right. All re-payments must be paid from your own salary, but depending on how you financed your training, this may differ. Different schemes offer different things, so looking at their individual information brochure or web page should shed some light upon the issue of finance.