First of all thank you so much for your detailed responses in clarifying doubts and the knowledge you guys share from your real world experiences for aviation aspirants. I have been reading the forums for quite a long time and find it very useful and unbiased. when I started dreaming about becoming a pilot, i have thousands of different questions and doubts regarding this field which was pretty hard to find the legitimate answers for other than some wild guesses of people until i came up to read the forums of this page. Also i used to spend time at airports watching aircraft and whenever i see a pilot i used to go up to them, take a selfie and used to ask my questions but still u can imagine how much u can ask to a guy who is heading for a flight or coming back after one.
Anyway lets get to the point. i have a really stupid question i think about the license conversion.
Lets say if i have my ATPL license with 2000+ hrs from a regional(CRJ200) and wants to fly for the US carriers( have a green card). If i convert my Canadian license to FAA one will I be loosing my Canadian license( what i mean is still i be able to fly for the Canadian airline until i find a job with the US carrier) or will it be an additional endorsement?
Also if I have 4000hrs which include at least 2000hrs as PIC what are the chances that i could apply directly apply to the majors or airlines like southwest(national carriers)
Thank you for your valuable time and keep up the good work. u guys are the real champs!
Canada is one of the few countries that has a reciprocal agreement with the US for license conversions making the process relatively easy.
Based on FAR 61-135A
(https://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/Advisory_Circular/AC_61-135A.pdf) in order to convert your TCCA to FAA you’d need to complete an FAA ATP-CTP course. US Regional carriers include the course as part of newhire training so I don’t even think you’d need to convert prior to training. I would contact the US Regional you’re interested in to confirm but I’m pretty certain this is correct.
As for applying to a Major and getting hired I don’t see why you couldn’t. The caveat there would be US Majors expect you to already have your FAA ATP and do not do the ATP-CTP training. In that case you’d most likely need to do it yourself at your own expense.
To my knowledge, you would not lose your Canadian license, although you would need to meet the requirements to keep both licenses current. Converting a new license is not an endorsement, it is issuing a whole new license. You need to check directly with the FAA to see about the feasibility of issuing an FAA license based off of a Canadian one.
With that kind of flight time, you could of course apply directly to the majors. Whether or not they will call you is of course anybody’s guess.
Thank for your response @Adam . Just want to make sure I understood things correctly.
1.So if I want to go to the regionals they offer the ATP-CTP course and i don’t have to do it but if I want to go direct to the majors with enough hours then I have to do the ATP-CTP course outside at own expense.
2.Also do i have to convert my all licenses to the FAA one starting from PPL to ATPL or just ony need to convert the highest one I possess.
3.Also for the majors lets say if I want to do the ATP-CTP outside, what are the possible options of doing it (like which institutes offer the FAA approved ATP). Does the option at ATP flight school good enough?
4.And along with converting my Canadian licenses wouldn’t it be possible to convert the TCCA ATPL to FAA ATP? Is that what you mentioned above doing the FAA ATP-CTP as part of the conversion process. for example, If i want to convert my TCCA CPL to FAA one I just have to do the ground school along with the checkrides. Just like that for converting the TCCA ATPL i have to do the FAA ATP course since there are no checkride for the ATPL. Did I understood you correctly?
What is the best possible option to contact FAA regarding the queries about the conversion. Do they have contact number which i can call or emailing will be a feasible option?
Also, for majors like United will there be a problem in accepting the converted licenses rather than the one obtained by doing the all the training in the States.
3.Does United accept pilots with good amount of jet time whom does not have any U.S regional experience?
Is there any regionals in the states that have a flow through to United like the Envoy and Piedmont airlines for American(5-7 years flow through wit out any interview) .
Regional airlines hire Commercial pilots at 1500hrs most of whom don’t have their ATPs. They incorporate the ATP-CTP course into newhire training and you’re type rating check will actually be an ATP checkride. Majors hire from the Regionals and Regional pilots (and Corp Capts) have their ATPs already. You’d therefore need to take the course and the checkride to earn your ATP before getting hired.
I suggest you read FAR 61-135A I attached. It provides the info you require but I believe you simply need to do the highest rating held.
There are a number of schools offering the ATP-CTP course (ATP Flight School is one of the best). There’s no such thing as “good enough” or not. All the courses are FAA approved. If you pass the course you’re good, if not you’re not.
There absolutely is an ATP checkride but to take it you must complete the ATP-CTP course. Again I recommend you read the FAR.