Chris Hope, in seeking applause for Britannia Airways' limited and partial sponsored pilot-training scheme (Flight International, 29 October-4 November), is unlikely to hear even one clap from among the thousands of young people who possess university entrance qualifications and demonstrate stacks of motivation with pleasing personal qualities that are essential for this career.
I am a product of the 1970s sponsored schemes run by airlines such as Aer Lingus, British Airways, British United Airways, Cambrian and Northeast in which cadet training was "fully" sponsored. Most of us are still serving the industry after 30 years and there is a low leaver rate as well.
Britannia, in seeking the academic elite from monied backgrounds (because as an undergraduate you will need lots of money to finance 30h flying and produce £15,000 ($23,800) is doing little to address the training investment needs of this profession and is giving no encouragement to the talent pool that lacks privilege. It is surely a token gesture.
Capt Gordon MacFarlane Bahrain
Source: Flight International
