Working in the U.K. Requirments?

[DairyAir]

Just wondering if anyone knows the job situation in the U.K. for pilots. My fiance is British so I should be able to get a work visa for the U.K. How hard is it to find employment with an airline over there and how do you get the EU license. Any help would be much appreciated. I have around 5000 hrs much of it in jets with 2500 121.

Thanks DA

 

[pegasus]

Speaking as a Brit, working in the USA...The UK has adopted the European Joint Aviation Authority (JAA) licence system. It gives you no credit for your FAA licence. You will need to take all the exams and a check ride to get a JAA licence. Now here is the bad bit, The exams are very expensive and hard to pass. They are not like the FAA multi choice. You have to study hard for a few months prior. Most of my ex-colleagues (military) would study for about 2-3 months (5 nights a week, never saw them down the pub) and then take the exams. Others didn't pre-study, but paid a fortune to go on a 6 week course prior to the exams.
A met officer in the Royal Navy, who was a budding pilot, took the met exam. He told me that it was harder than the stuff he had done for his degree in meteorology. Each country in Europe was given a subject and told to construct the exam. They all tried to outdo each other to prove their pilots were brighter. Then there is navigation, math, physics, aerodynamics etc etc.
I don't know your personal situation, but if you can convince your fiance to move to the USA you will save yourself about $10,000 for a licence.
Regards the job situation: Virgin and BA are the biggest, Easy Jet, Ryan Air and Go are the SWA lookalikes. The pay does not compare to the USA, the cost of living is substantially higer. If you want more info, pm me.
Good luck.

 

[legalalien]

The best place to get information on the requirements for converting to a UK license is www.PPRUNE.org (professional Pilots rumour network). It is a website run by a UK based pilot and is one the most visited around.

If you look in the Forums section and do a search the topic has been discussed in detail. There are links to the relevant CAA webpages.

 

[AAflyer]

Go was the BA lowfare (Cal lite), and is now gone, absorbed by another one of the LCC, I forgot which one at the moment.

Easyjet is going strong, and Ryan has ordered 108 B737-800s.

Good Luck Dairy!!

AA

 

[AJWick]

EasyJet and Go merged.

aj