British Aerospace Flight Training (BAeFT) has signed a deal with UK regional carrier Manx Airlines for a three-way-sponsored ab initio pilot-training scheme operated by British Aerospace Flight Training (BAeFT).
The partnership airline selection scheme (PASS) is also interesting several other airlines, says BAeFT's marketing director Capt Chris Long.
The PASS is a five-phase programme taking students through commercial licence qualification and a line-oriented flight-training bridging course. Successful pilot graduates are guaranteed a minimum five years' employment with their sponsor carrier. Total cost to the graduate is just over £23,000 ($37,500), and the cost to the airline is about £28,000, with BAeFT picking up the bill for any additional unforeseen training. After a day of psychomotor aptitude testing and an airline interview, successful students then pay £5,000 for 11 weeks of BAeFT ground and flying instruction. This is enough, say Manx and BAeFT, to predict "with confidence" whether the student will succeed.
At that point, the airline commits its sponsorship to approved students.
Source: Flight International
