A group of UK multi-crew pilot licence (MPL) trainees dropped by their sponsoring carrier because of restructuring were immediately taken on by another airline, busting the myth that the MPL is not transferable, according to CTC Aviation chief commercial officer Anthony Petteford.
The carrier, Monarch Airlines, also had to make redundant some CTC-trained first officers with MPLs who were well past their line check, but Petteford says CTC is already in talks with carriers that will take them on. This, he insists, is further proof that the MPL qualification is flexible in the face of changing airline circumstances.
Speaking of the trainee pilots, for whom the Monarch decision came at the end of their MPL phase one core skills syllabus, Petteford says: “As their training provider, we got involved and facilitated their transfer to another MPL airline, EasyJet, and the guys are now back on track again – in less than one month, all supported by the Civil Aviation Authority. So MPL training is definitely transferable between airlines.”
An MPL “first” will be announced soon, says Petteford, after a “high-profile airline” signed up with CTC to have cadets trained under the system for delivery straight into the right-hand seat of widebody aircraft. So far most MPL graduates have started work on Airbus A320s, Boeing 737s and – with Flybe – Bombardier Dash 8 Q400s.
Meanwhile, CTC says it has decided to embed an upset prevention and recovery training (UPRT) module in all its ab initio training, whether for the MPL or a commercial pilot licence.
This requirement is expected to be mandated by EASA and the US Federal Aviation Administration, but CTC is not waiting for the starting pistol. The training will comprise 3h in a Slingsby T67 aerobatic aircraft, which will be based at the company’s Bournemouth training centre in Dorset, and 4h in one of CTC Aviation’s Boeing or Airbus level-D full-flight simulators, “to enable transfer of the core UPRT skills into an operational airline environment”, Petteford explains.
Source: FlightGlobal.com
