Hello. I have always had a desire to fly, and recently have been traveling quite a bit and the desire to fly has grown. The few biggest concerns I have are finances: I still have right around $50k in student loans to pay off, and this would be another $65k+. I currently make around $40k a year at 26 and I’m comfortably able to afford my bills. I am worried that could change by taking another loan. Additionally, my girlfriend and I may be buying a house, so I’m not sure this is the right time. I’m from New England, and my family lives there, and I was looking for some schools up there but it didn’t seem like there were any that would offer the training I wanted (in Maine anyways). It seems like the best way to go is ATP, and I was looking at the Naples, FL location because my girlfriend has family down that way, and it would save me having to pay for housing. Do you think a 1 hour commute each day would be too much? Also, when they say zero experience to airline pilot in about 2 years, is that true? Are there any other rating tests or anything that I would have to take that are not included in the training program?
I also saw something on another forum about CommutAir’s Career Path Program affiliated with United. Is that an ATP partner, or would I have to pursue that elsewhere? The bottom line is, I really want to fly, but have some personal questions I need to figure out, but my goal is to be flying for a Regional 30 months after my first day of flight training, if I choose to go that route. Is this something that is feasible?
I’m sorry I’m all over the place, I have lots of questions!
Any advice, or information you could offer would be greatly appreciated!
Julian,
The first thing to consider is you’re current debt that you’re currently handling, PLUS the cost of flight training with ZERO salary for 9mos and $10-15K less for at least a year and a half after that? Beyond that let’s answer your questions:
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While an hour commute isn’t ideal, it’s been done. Just know you’ll have some VERY long days of training.
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Yes 2 (to 2.5yrs) is true. ATP has been doing what they do for over 30yrs and has sent almost 600 pilots to the airlines in the last 12 mos alone. If they were lying someone would’ve exposed them by now.
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Everything you need to put you in the position to build time and get hired by a Regional is included. Any additional training will be provided by the airline that hires you.
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The CommutAir United program is available to pilots who have trained anywhere and have the required time.
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Yes 30 mos is a very feasible timeline.
I also recommend you look at our FAQ section for more info on many common questions.
Adam
Thank you Adam!