Speedbird (BA)

[BoilerPilot2007]

Hello all. I am currently training at Purdue University, so I am year away from even flying a regional. However, I have always had my sights set on one goal: flying heavies for the majors. Airlines will always need pilots, and no matter how long or hard the road, I will always aim for that goal.

That being said, what is the realistic outlook of an American flying for an international carrier, namely British Airways? Is this possible?

Thanks for your help!

Evan

 

[Dizel8]

Not impossible, but pretty darn hard. You certainly would have to aquire a JAR license, a rather tedious and expensive process. You would also have to do flight test for the license.

Then you would of course be a "foreigner".

However, there are several foreign ailrines employing expats, one of the best, from what I gather, is Emirates.

An excellent place to search for information, would be a british site. Try www.pprune.com

 

[YaMama]

Isn't that a cool callsign? I want to work for BA too, only so I can say "Speedbird xxx" on the radio a lot



(sorry fo' the tangent)

 

[dispatchguy]

One other thing is that you MUST be a resident of a European Union country, and if you only have a blue US passport, and can not claim dual citizenship over in the EU, then your chances are extremely few and even more extremely far between.

I looked to be an FOO for Speedbird, and that is what I found out

 

[BigFlyr]

Isn't that a cool callsign? I want to work for BA too, only so I can say "Speedbird xxx" on the radio a lot

Give me a friggin' break! "Speed-Bird" or "Bird-Seed"... Same difference unless you're flying the Concorde!

"so I am year away from even flying a regional"

BoilerPilot 2007,

Dude, since 9/11 there have been over 100,000 jobs lost in aviation and at least 10,000 pilots furloughed. You are a long ways away from a job at a major and forget about flying for a European airline unless you are European and hold a JAA or JAR ATP ticket. Wake up and smell the jet fuel!

Ok, ok... I've got an attitude problem and I did mean to burst your bubble!

 

[ThreeGreens]

BigFlyr,

You really do have an attitude problem. When you started flying, didn't you have any dreams of flying for a specific airline ? Give the guy a break. How do you know what aviation will be in 2,5,10 years from now ?

Good luck Evan and don't let some guys like BigFlyr kill your dreams.

 

[ATRCAPT]

British Airways

Evan -
Being an Anglo-phile myself I seriously looked into flying for BA. After numerous road blocks I realized my aviation future was with a carrier here in the states. Also, I admire your attitude toward a flying career. I'm sure you know the industry looks pretty bad right now, but a positive attitude toward flying puts you ahead of a lot of folks. Several people I started my training with (I won't mention how long ago!) have left aviation for desk jobs. I admit watching my little girl grow up from different hotel rooms has made me consider the same, but I firmly believe that if this industry was easy to survive and thrive in everyone would be doing it. Please don't let any of the poor attitudes on this board affect the pursuit of your chosen career. A quote from Ernest K. Gann always puts this career in perspective for me - "He simply learned to fly an airplane in his youth, and continued flying for the rest of his days." You've got to do it because you love to fly because the money will be a long way off.

Good luck.

 

[bravodude]

bigflyr

no wonder your out of job do us all a favor with that attitude and stay out of aviation.

 

[BigFlyr]

Come on guys! Lighten up! Hey got recalled today to start on Monday, so there, not gone yet! I have a right to be grumpy! All pilots do... You'll learn!

 

[bravodude]

who are you going back to

 

[Heavy Set]

Flexjet

 

[BigFlyr]

Flexjet

No not Flexjet, Miami Air... B737-800... Looks like they're hiring a class for November or December too...

 

[texanpilot]

Boilerpilot,
Shoot for your dreams. If you want something, dont stop until you get it. In aviaion you will find pilots at majors and regionals who will try to hold you down, like some on this thread, because they feel that thru their career the MAN held them down. Find out right now what you need to be a BA pilot, and work toward it. Find any plane you can with wings and an engine and fly it. Then go to Harry's and suck down some of those huge pitchers of beer. Then repeat. Get as much time as you can while at PU to position yourself for a regional job. Lafayette Aviation's prices are rediculous, so go to Delphi or another place around and tell them you wanna rent. Plus that will postion you for a CFI job there. You scratch their back, they scratch yours. At the regionals, you will log 900 hours a year in turboprop/turbojet equipment. Just because there are "100,000" pilots w/o jobs, that does not mean you cant get one. I was hired at a major this year.
PU positions you wonderfully to tackle this industry. The school's reputation is great. Try to get the type or time in the Beechjet and king airs. That experience is priceless at 200 hours TT.
Next, Network, Network, Network. Aviation is a small, small world. If you team-up with others, you will help yourself in the future.
PM me if you need email