Richard Branson has made his millions taking risks, but even the most seasoned gambler might raise an eyebrow at his latest venture. The high-flying entrepreneur's Virgin Atlantic airline is to become the first in Europe to put newly qualified pilots into the cockpit of a long-haul aircraft.On Thursday the company launched a new programme offering potential airmen and women the chance to join the airline with no previous flying experience.

The would-be pilots will be "part of the Virgin family from day one", with the future flyers programme being run in partnership with pilot training company CTC Aviation.
The 18-month programme includes pre-flight training, full motion flight deck simulation at CTC Aviation's crew training centre at Southampton, and flight training in Phoenix, Arizona.

It leads towards the Civil Aviation Authority's latest multi pilot licence and a position as a Virgin Atlantic co-pilot operating the Airbus A330-300. Applicants are required to have a minimum of five GCSEs or equivalent including maths, science and English. Virgin's flight operations general manager David Kistruck said: "Our people have always been at the heart of Virgin Atlantic and we're delighted to offer this opportunity to a whole new generation of flyers. "They'll be part of the Virgin family from day one and will enjoy an opportunity like no other, as the only trainee pilots in Europe to fly straight onto long-haul aircraft once qualified." Earlier this year it emerged pilots are racking up debts of £100,000 or more to pay for their flight training ,leaving them just £500 a month to live on once they land a job with an airline.

The British Airline Pilots’ Association found that over half of the cadet pilots it surveyed had to find £75,000 to £100,000 to fund their training and one in six said they had to pay £100,000 or more.
Data supplied by Balpa show that unless freshly qualified pilots manage to get a job with a major flag-carrying airline such as British Airways they can expect to earn about £27,000 to £29,000 a year.
This would eventually climb to a basic salary before allowances of £56,000 to £66,000 as a captain with more than a decade’s service and four to eight years in command.
By contrast, British Airways pilots flying short-haul routes out of Heathrow or Gatwick can expect to start on nearly £52,000, rising to £102,000 after 20 years’ service.

LINK

What airline in the US is taking someone with 0 hours, putting them through training and hiring them? I'm pretty sure there are none.

I was a jump pilot and I know a lot of people that were or still are. Out of all of those I know, there's only one that would fall into that category that you speak of. I'm not sure where you got your opinion of them at, but it's wrong. I'm flying at my second airline and I had things happen to me as a jump pilot that gave me great experience dealing with emergencies. That experience has come in handy now that I'm flying at my second airline. If you don't mind me asking, who do you fly for?