BA's Future Pilot Programme returns
In August 2011, British Airways signed a long term contract with the CTC Aviation group of companies to sponsor and secure the flight training for Future Pilot Programme cadets. British Airways selected Airline Placement Limited (APL), a wholly owned subsidiary of CTC Aviation Group Limited (CTC), to sponsor all cadets for the British Airways Future Pilot Programme (FPP) and manage the entire FPP on British Airways’s behalf. Additionally, CTC Aviation, with flight schools in both the UK and New Zealand, is approved by British Airways to supply cadet training for the Future Pilot Programme.
The first intake of FPP cadets commenced their training at various stages throughout 2012 (some will begin in early 2013) and all have more than proven their place on the programme, producing excellent results through training. A significant number of this first intake are now well into their flight training at CTC’s training centre in New Zealand and others have just embarked on the ATPL theory in the United Kingdom.
Speaking at the Professional Flight Training Exhibition at Heathrow on Saturday 3 November, Lindsay Craig, Manager Pilot Recruitment for British Airways announced that the 2012 application window will open on Monday 19 November 2012 and close on Thursday 13 December 2012; “We were delighted with the level of interest and, more importantly, the quality of applicants we saw through selection last year and those currently in training are certainly doing us proud. We expect that today’s announcement will generate even more interest than last year, so competition will be fierce.
“APL plays a vital role in our Future Pilot Programme; managing the programme on our behalf and sponsoring all the cadets from our Approved Training Organisations. Their innovative solutions have enabled us to help even more talented people train to become pilots with us and we are looking forward to this next intake of future pilots joining the British Airways team.”
A pioneering feature of the FPP is the fact that British Airways is prepared to provide the necessary guarantee to enable an applicant to secure a bank loan for the funding required, together with a conditional offer of a contract of employment to successful candidates.
Lee Woodward, Director of Business Development for CTC Aviation said: “We are delighted to be working alongside British Airways on this ground-breaking programme. The FPP provides even greater support and security for successful applicants and will certainly bring the profession into the reach of a far wider section of people than has been possible recently. Having worked closely with British Airways for 20 years, we see this contract as a further endorsement of our relationship and proof of our ability to develop innovative solutions for both airlines and pilots alike. The Future Pilot Programme is a fantastic opportunity for anyone, from any background, to realise their ambition of becoming a BA pilot.”
In addition to the FPP news, CTC has also announced an increase to their industry-leading ‘Bond Protection’ to £69,000 for both FPP and CTC Wings Cadets. Lee Woodward added “The ‘Bond Protection’ which is offered to pilots training with CTC, is a valuable insurance policy providing British Airways FPP and CTC Wings Cadets with a significant safety net. We were the first training organisation to offer this financial protection and we believe that this increase combined with our rigorous, airline standard selection process and unrivalled 98% success record through training for our cadets, provides the best risk protection package in the industry.”
British Airways will be speaking at CTC’s open day on Saturday 10 November which has been fully booked for several months. The CTC team will also be exhibiting and on hand to answer questions on both the British Airways FPP and the CTC Wings programme at the following events during November;
Friday 9 November 2012 - Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS) Careers in Aviation event at the RAeS headquarters in London
Saturday 17 November 2012 - Professional Flight Training Exhibition in Milan
For more information on the British Airways Future Pilot Programme, visit ctcwings.com/bafuturepilot
