Hello,
I have recently joined this forum and I just wanted to say well done on the professional look and structure of the forum.
Well onto my question,
Does anyone know any good routes to go along with in becoming a pilot in the UK?
Unfortunately I have no idea.
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Have you visited Pprune.org? They have a many more European followers. I’d check them out.
Adam
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Thanks a lot 
Oliver,
Thanks for the compliments. This website is designed primarily for US based pilots, unfortunately none of us have flown for U.K. based airlines. I would recommend that you contact some of the various airlines in your country and ask what they recommend.
Chris
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Hi Oliver,
Generally there are two good routes to become a pilot in the UK: the more favorable is to apply for a cadetship at British Airways, Easyjet, Flybe, Virgin Atlantic, etc. and have the prospect of being employed at the respective airline once you successfully graduate from flight training. These airlines do not have their own flight schools, but work together with large flight schools in England.
The second route would be to undergo your ab-initio training at one of the flight schools like CAE and thereafter start applying at various airlines. In most cases the private flight schools have some form of contact to different airlines and they will try to get you an invitation for assessment.
Unfortunately nowadays you will have to pay for your training on both routes, although British Airways, Easyjet and Virgin Atlantic will help you to get a loan if necessary.
Please feel free to ask any further questions, flight training is very similar in most European countries and I am glad to give you some insight!
Thanks so much!
Hello Kevin,
My names is Oswaldo Ballarales. I’m from Venezuela currently flying Boeing 767 as first officer. I have almost 1000hrs on the Boeing 737-200 SIC as well and I have over 4000hrs TT and hold Commercial Pilot certificates from U.S.A(FAA) and Venezuela (ICAO). Right now I am studying to take the EASA ATPL exams and I am looking for price information about possible schools where I could do the rest of my conversion process. … We are going through a difficult time here in Venezuela, I am only doing 7 hrs a month on the 767 I have a total of 80+ hrs on it so far. So very slow to make 500hrs on that type. and the 737-200 is waaay old
I would really appreciate any information you could give me. Thank you very much,
Oswaldo Ballarales.
Hello Kevin, How are you doing?? I just posted something hoping you could give me a hand here. Thanks
Oswaldo,
I am sorry, but I am not familiar with the schools that help in the conversion process. This website is designed primarily for those who want to train and fly in the United States, as such, our knowledge is more focused on that.
Chris
Hi Oswaldo,
You are taking the right direction with getting your studies started, as you will have to take the 14 subjects spanning theoretical knowledge exam at any EASA aviation authority. Basically it makes no difference in which state (Germany, England, Spain, Switzerland, etc.) you go for the exam, as once you have passed the theoretical ATPL exam, it is recognized by all EASA members. The next step for you is to go for a CPL or ATPL practical check ride (depending on your current license), conveniently at the same state you did your theory exam. On top of all this you will require a EASA Medical class 1 and a Radio Operator Certificate with an Englisch endorsement of ICAO Level 4 - 6 to get your license issued.
It is definitely manageable if you put in the required time and effort, maybe get in touch with one of the larger training organisations in Europe to receive a detailed offer. Take a look at these:
Chris, thank you so much for your time and consideration. I wish I had a green card so I would be able to apply in the U.S. I lived in the States for 6 years while getting my Bachelor’s Degree from Embry-Riddle and all flying certificates. Heard from a lot of friends airlines are starting to pick the pace up again so if that’s true is awesome for all of you guys… I love the Jetblue, Southwest, Frontier kinds(Short to medium range ops). I am married to a Spaniard and have a 1 year old daughter so I am looking towards the EASA direction because of my wife’s citizenship benefits. Here in Venezuela as a B767 FO I’m making $350 a month YES you read right…Three hundred and fifty dollars a month net PAY all of this with 4000hrsTT almost all of it jet time and I just got tired of giving my time away…well hope you have a great day and happy landings.
Greetings Kevin and thanks soo much for the heads up. I will definitely look them up. I do not want to bother so much because I still got to get the exams out of the way first but let me ask you a few more questions and doubts if I may…since I am barely flying I am doing the EASA ATPL distance learning throughout a UK ATO based in South Florida(Doing it there because the airline I fly for has only one destination which is Miami) so that ATO was very convenient. But I thought after the exams I could do the conversion training at any EASA member state…I wouldn’t like to do it with the UK for 2 reasons. One being that I think the schools there might be more expensive that those in countries like Poland, Iceland, Norway etc (I have no clue whatsoever), number two is after Brexit I don’t know if it might be a problem to carry an EASA certificate from a non EU state and look for a job in Europe.
Also how is the future looking in Europe for new hires? Are they being too picky? I am kind of concerned because by the time I am done with the ATPL exams I’ll be 38, now 4300hrs TT, 990hrs 737-200, 80hrs 767, 1000+hrs Gulfstream 3 EFIS, 1000+ hrs on Citation CJ2+ EFIS all as first officer, and a Bacherlor’s degree, and ICAO English level 6, so the thing is that I do not have those 500hrs EFIS on commercial jets many airlines require. At my current pace I do not think I will be getting 500hrs on the 767 quite soon, I have a two year old daughter and want a better future for her ASAP so it means leaving Venezuela in the shortest possible time. Do you think with my kind of experience I could be looking into something like Norwegian, Ryanair, EasyJet, Eurowings, Volotea, Vueling, Flybe, Jet2…etc etc (low cost) or would it be better for me to wait till things get better and go there with 500hrs on EFIS Commercial even if it is a 737 classic…(another job I am considering here and they are flying 30 hrs a month)
Thank you so much in advanced Kevin, sorry this came up to be too long. But I’d really appreciate any inputs you may have. if you prefer my email is my first and last names together at hotmail…