Ryanair cabin crew training charges

Ryanair are also the airline that charges £50 for a CV to be read – so add that to the list! 😉

I agree with most of what has been posted here. I can’t comment from aircrews perspective as my dealings with LoCo carriers was from a handling agents point of view but they certainly did’nt do our end of things any good either. Our company was tendering for the renewal of a handling contract with a major (and still flying) LoCo and we were supposed to be able to turn round a fully loaded 737-300 in 20 mins using no more than 3 ground crew for baggage off/onload, step removal and pushback! This number did not include traffic officer or passenger agent. In reality this could not be done with less than 4 so straight away we were losing money on the deal and running a high risk of incurring penalty payments which seem to contribute to the coffers of these “carriers” in no small way and thereby subsidise the unrealistic fares. Our company decided to withdraw its tender which indirectly led to a large drop in business and the loss of my and many other colleagues jobs. Thankfully I am now employed in the Biz Jet/VIP field and immune from the antics of these “airlines” and I’m not sorry about that. As I’ve posted previously, I dont believe that the likes of Ryanair will be a real long term item, at least not in their present form. I feel for those out there who aspire to piloting for a living, Good Luck to all of you in this LoCo environment but remember the decent operators are still out there.

Originally posted by MINIDOH
Whilst I agree tottally with MM, I also agree with Martin. What are us wannabees suppossed to do??? We pay approx £60,000, just for the ATPL (F) course!!! We have to get work. However, I dont think people should blame the wannabees. If the other pilots when Ryanair hadnt worked for such poor pay and such a terrible life style then they wouldnt be able to get away with it. Because they accepted to contracts Ryanair can continue to go on like it because other airlines like BA will only hire the best, and if you arent the best then how do you get a job? Ryanair, Easyjet… thats the only option at the moment. But then again, in my opinion, if you arent the best (I dont mean academically, intelligence is not just academic) then I dont think you should be a pilot!

i dont believe i was blaming the wannabees. I simply suggested a reason as to why the conditions set by the likes of Ryanair are tollerated to the degree that they are by crews…..

Completely agree with you mate, it is sickening, people who have worked so hard to get to where they are shouldn’t have to work themselves into the ground. If the constant rumours that are flying around at OAT are true most of the airlines will be recruiting by the time I qualify in March ’05. I live in hope 🙂

I agree with you Matt, although I don’t want to sound arrogant, after all the work I’ve put in to get to where I am, I don’t want to work myself into the ground, and I would dearly love to go to a better airline. easyJet would be great, BA Citiexpress spectacular, but for someone like myself who isn’t going to get the most amazing ground school marks I doubt that will happen without knowing someone who could swing me a job. I suppose we’ll have to see where I am in 12 months time, any airline is good for me really!

Whilst I agree tottally with MM, I also agree with Martin. What are us wannabees suppossed to do??? We pay approx £60,000, just for the ATPL (F) course!!! We have to get work. However, I dont think people should blame the wannabees. If the other pilots when Ryanair hadnt worked for such poor pay and such a terrible life style then they wouldnt be able to get away with it. Because they accepted to contracts Ryanair can continue to go on like it because other airlines like BA will only hire the best, and if you arent the best then how do you get a job? Ryanair, Easyjet… thats the only option at the moment. But then again, in my opinion, if you arent the best (I dont mean academically, intelligence is not just academic) then I dont think you should be a pilot!

I think you’ve summed it up perfectly Lee. I’d go to Ryanair first and foremost because I love aviation and I want to live my life long dream, and trust me that’s something you need to concentrate on while your at flight school sitting in a classroom!!! 🙂

won’t many crews simply see working for the likes of Ryanair as simply a career stepping stone??

Am i right in thinking that most cabin and flightdeck crews now begin their careers in positions on regional or lowcost airlines; move to charter carriers and then to larger international carriers? If thats the case and individuals want that gradual progression then surely a few months or years with a carrier like Ryanair will be more than tolerable if it gives them footing required to do overnight stays in tropical destinations with airlines who provide employees with more benefits?

On another note, perhaps the crews who are immediately willing to pay training/introduction costs are basic aviation nuts who want nothing more than to work in the industry or people who simply didnt make it through similar processes with other airlines!?

LGKR

While I think you make an extremely valid point and I agree with you on the whole, sadly the choice for pilots like myself is Ryanair or nothing. I’d much rather pay to apply, get paid very little and be forced to work damn hard in order to pay my bills and build my hours than let the £70,000 I’ve paid for my ATPL training go to waste as I spend years looking for a job.

Sadly for younger guys like myself who are training for our ATPLs Ryanair looks like the only viable option for a job. It seems to be the only quick step from flight school to a decent jet.

A very good friend of ours who is 20 became a Ryanair member of Cabin crew half a year ago. She has quit already, she says it is terrible and they treat pilots and cabin crew like dirt.

I read an article about that in yesterday’s Daily Mail. I remember it saying that potential cabin crew had to pay :

£1,500 – training charge

£350 approx – accomodation (must find themselves for 1 month)

£50 – Medical Examination

£65 – Registration fee for a “learning pack and test”.

£500 – Uniform

So that works out about £2465!!!!! just to train as a Ryanair crew member! God no wonder everytime I fly Ryanair, the crew look miserable – they are probably all in debt!

A Ryanair spokesman said:

“The Cabin Crew Training Course is contracted out to specialised avaition training companies and there is a charge of approximately £2,000. Should the candidate successfully complete their training course, he/she is guaranteed a job with Europe’s most successful airline.”

She also said

“Cabin crew earn up to £25,000 a year and the company was ‘offering opportunities at a time when most airlines are reducing employee costs”.

The Department for Education and Skills said

“It is up to Ryanair to decide how to develop its workforce but it probably will deter people from joining them which could cause them a problem”.

The Department of Trade and Industry said

“There is no automatic right to free training with employment but it does sound like an unusual approach”.

Yes, its all very true.

If you go onto the recruitment section of the Ryanair website, and follows the links, its goes into detail about having to pay for your own course and your only guaranteed a job if you pass it.

I think the French have to pay for their cabin crew training too don’t they? I’m sure someone told me they have to attend some sort of academy and pay for it all. Can anyone confirm this?

Ryanair do have a cheek though. They know people are silly enough to pay it, the ones who are desperate to become cabin crew anyway!

I say more fool the people who pay for this…where would Ryanair be today if people said enough if enough.:confused: