easyJet, the UK’s largest airline, today announced 330 new permanent jobs in 2013 for pilots as part of a new career structure to provide cadet and First Officer opportunities for pilots looking for a career at easyJet. The new permanent First Officer positions will be offered across all 11 of easyJet’s UK bases – Gatwick, Southend, Luton, Stansted, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Manchester, Liverpool, Bristol and Belfast.

easyJet has also reshaped and formalised its career structure. This will provide cadets with the opportunity to gain experience and flying hours followed by a new entrant contract for experienced First Officers which in turn leads to a long-term career at easyJet and the opportunity to become a Captain.

easyJet’s financial performance demonstrates that the airline is well positioned to continue to profitably grow in the European short-haul market creating attractive long-term careers for pilots in the UK and across Europe. No other UK airline is recruiting on this scale this year.

Initially, when filling the 330 new roles priority will be given to pilots employed by easyJet’s aviation training partners, CTC Aviation and Parc, who are already gaining experience as pilots with easyJet. The airline expects to be creating new permanent roles in both 2013 and 2014 and will also consider applications from pilots with appropriate experience.

easyJet’s Head of Flight Operations, Captain Brian Tyrrell, said today:

“I’m really pleased that easyJet is able to offer 330 new permanent positions for pilots. They will be joining easyJet at a good time and have the prospect of a long and successful career at easyJet.

“Pilots joining easyJet will be flying on a modern fleet of aircraft, with industry leading punctuality, high quality training and leading positions at 11 airports across the UK.

“We offer a clear career path for pilots with the potential to move from First Officer to Captain more quickly than at other airlines.

“The skills and professionalism of our pilots is one of easyJet’s key strengths and we want to work with them and their representatives to ensure the airline’s continued success.”

For a pilot the first step towards joining easyJet will usually be through the airline’s training partners CTC Aviation and Parc. The pilots will gain experience of the airline’s operations and build up their flying hours with more work in the summer than the winter. This also provides easyJet with a level of flexibility due to the seasonal nature of our industry.

Once they have flown for over 1250 hours with easyJet and completed two years, pilots then join easyJet as permanent employees at First Officer rank. easyJet has used CTC Aviation and Parc for several years but this is the first time for some time that the airline has been able to offer permanent roles at First Officer level.

After flying for a further two years and reaching 2500 hours with easyJet pilots will then become a Senior First Officer.

From that stage the aim is to achieve their Command and become Captains. With easyJet’s continued planned growth the time taken from First Officer to Captain is likely to be quicker than at other airlines.

Beyond that there are further opportunities for pilots to develop their career whether that is into a training or management role.

There are currently over 1850 pilots permanently employed by easyJet with an additional 450 contracted through CTC Aviation and Parc.

Going forward the easyJet pilot career structure and expected total reward package range will be:

Rank	Career phase & Experience	Total Reward Package Range*
Cadet Scheme#	The pilots will gain experience of the airline’s operations and build up their flying hours.	£40k – £50k
First Officer	Pilots will become eligible for permanent employment as First Officer once they have 1251 flying hours and two years’ service with easyJet.	£54k – £58k
Senior First Officer	Once they have completed a further two years and have reached 2500 hours they will then become a Senior First Officer.	£66k – £75K
Captain	Pilots then gain further experience and after a few years will be able to achieve their Command.	£114k – £146k

*The total reward package includes flexible rosters, basic pay, on target bonus and sector pay and other allowances plus employment benefits such as pension. All these ranges are based on pilots working full time. There will also be part time (at 75%) and fixed rosters (paid at 90%) contracts available. #Cadet scheme – those with higher flying hours will earn more.

Photo: Rob Vogelaar Z.A.P.P.