What is the most cost efficient and time efficient way to become an Airline pilot?

D

David Tom

New Member
Hi forum.

I know I'm a first time poster, probably this question gets asked a lot, and I may be posting this in the wrong section but.

I have wanted to become a pilot since childhood. Has always been my dream and now I'm 23.

I have flown hours before in a C172 when I was younger but had to stop due to finance issues.

Now money is no factor.

My only recent experiences in flying have just been Flight Sim. Yea they aren't real but I was flying PMDG products and read all the manuals. But anyway it doesn't matter since starting off I will be flying anything but triple 7s for many years.

My question is, is it better to go to a local flight school and take hours for each license and rating one by one, or go get an all out package such as from ATP?

For me I have time and dedication for an accelerated course.

And my final question, do you need a bachelor's degree for any aircraft type ratings such as 737, 320 family, and above in size and passenger capacity?
 
If time and money aren't an issue and you don't have to work a real full time job to support yourself, ATP is probably the quickest way to go about doing it. There's certainly nothing wrong with going the local FBO route either.

If it were me, I'd probably go the FBO route because of better flexibility. ATP is incredibly regimented and doesn't care whether you complete the program successfully or not. It's a big business and they run it as such.

Do you have a BS/BA?
 
If it were me, I'd go to a local FBO and talk to them first. It'll save you money in the long run (even if that isn't a factor, you will appreciate the cost savings down the road) and you can likely accomplish your training in the same time frame in which a pilot mill would take depending on instructor availability and your aptitude. Nothing wrong with ATP either, they'll both get you where you want to be.

Yes, you will need a bachelors. Not necessarily for the type ratings themselves but in order to be competitive at an airline that flies that kind of equipment. It might not be a requirement at most "career" airlines per se now but you'll face an uphill battle to get hired without one.
 
Join a local flying club

Obtain all the certificate up to commercial single and/or multi.

Once you have those, go work for a survey company 1-2 years

Second option is banner towing or jump pilot

Other option is getting you CFI
 
So is it cheaper to go with the local FBO route? My calculations show it would be far more expensive to get a PPL, Instrument, Multi engine/commercial ratings at an FBO however maybe my calculations are off.

Can someone explain the costs?

And after a commercial license is obtained, what must I still do in order to at least land work at aircraft ratings of 320/737 family or above?
 
First off, make sure you can hold a first class medical before spending any money on training. ATP will probably get you done the quickest if money isn't an issue for you. If you want to save money just go to a 61 school or another 141 school. You'll want to have at least a Bachelor's to get looked at by a major airline.
 
In theory you could buy a plane with a dedicated CFI. Fly 5 hours x 6 days a week for a whole year. You would be close to 1500. You did say money was not a factor. ;)
 
The cheapest way would be to buy a share in a flying club or buy your own plane and hire a free lance instructor. Sell the plane or share for what you paid for it when you finish. You have to be self motivated and typically a lot of free lance guys wont be availible to go full time. If I could do it all over again I would do a scructured school with deadlines like ATP only because I'm a procrastinator. Just make sure you speak up and don't take any checkride until you feel 100% ready because those type of schools can rush you at times, ride failures will stay on your record forever. You don't need a degree to get hired at a major but you most certainly need one these days to get hired at a legacy.
 
Gulfstream Academy.

He didn't specify how to do it honestly, or to work for a good airline.
 
Go to as many Airline recruiting fairs as you can afford and be prepared to recite "Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps" from memory.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
 
Last edited:
David Tom said:
So is it cheaper to go with the local FBO route? My calculations show it would be far more expensive to get a PPL, Instrument, Multi engine/commercial ratings at an FBO however maybe my calculations are off.

And after a commercial license is obtained, what must I still do in order to at least land work at aircraft ratings of 320/737 family or above?
Click to expand...

I'd wager the FBO will still be cheaper. The amounts ATP quotes are in the event of a best case scenario, so unless you're the second coming of Robin Olds himself, it's going to be more expensive because you won't be getting it done in the amount of hours they advertise.

After your commercial, you'll need 1500 hours before you can apply to a regional, if that's the route you choose to go. Figure you'll spend at least five years at a regional before your competitive for a legacy job.

*Again, you'll want to get a bachelor's if you want a job somewhere that flies 737s/A320s.*

Lastly, there's no shortcuts in this profession. You need to do your time and pay your dues. Cutting corners isn't looked highly upon. Focus on the task at hand and stop worrying about what could happen a decade down the line. And network, network, network.
 
David Tom said:
Can someone explain the costs?

And after a commercial license is obtained, what must I still do in order to at least land work at aircraft ratings of 320/737 family or above?
Click to expand...

The FBO will be cheaper. Plenty of good information out the if you use google to finds prices, but the big picture is that you need 250 hours @ ~$120/hr in airplanes, plus ~100 hours of instruction ~$50/hr, which works out to about $35k these days, give or take. After that, you teach flying for a few years. After that, you can probably get hired flying. 5 or 10 years after that, someplace that flies 320s/737s might talk to you. They will probably want you to have a degree, so you might as well do that first.
 
I'll have to agree the local FBO (or a local flight instructor) is the way to go. Get as many ratings as you can at the local airport.

There are many hidden costs at the academies with the fancy websites that you will not be aware of until it is too late. And never pay any flight school more than $2500 in advance no matter what.
 
Get a degree, If you want to save time getting a degree you should look for a college aviation program, your ratings will count towards college credit. Most will say get a degree in something non aviation related, because if something happens it gives you something else to fall back on. College programs will be more expensive than the FBO route but it's a kill two birds with one stone kind of thing. Also some aviation college programs allow you to get to a regional airline at a lower time than 1500 hours.

Career timeline.

PPL, IR, CPL ME/SE, CFI, CFII, MEI. Depending on the route you choose 1-4 years.

Instructing or other time building 2-4 years

Regional Airline 2-5+ years

Then Majors/LCC's with Airbus and Boeing aircraft. Best case 5 years, most likely 10 years give or take a few. There are some exceptions out there but I'd say 10+ years is the norm in today's job market.

GET THE DEGREE, if I could do it all over again I would have got that taken care of first, then did the flying, because it sucks to be doing it later.
 
I would ask the original poster what his ultimate employment goals are. If it is to work for a major, then I would echo what other posters have said and make sure you have a 4 year degree. If that is already accomplished then I would differ with some posters here and recommend that you steer away from FBO training.

At least at the legacy level there is a definite preference for those pilots who trained at a University or some other more regimented environment. Airline training is like drinking out of a fire hose. It is very compact and most companies are detail oriented in the extreme as to how the operation is conducted. This methodology is how an airline like AA or UA, with seniority lists that number more than 10,000, can pair pilots who have never flown together before and still maintain high levels of safety.

It's not that one airlines way of doing things is better than another its that all pilots of that airline are exactly on the same page for every little operational detail from the time they first meet to the time they leave the airplane at the end of a 4 day. Standardization is sometimes a bit of a pain in the ass but it works. It pays dividends in safety and it really shows up in the simulator during check-rides.

I personally believe that if you do your primary training in an environment like that then you will not be surprised by the regimentation you encounter at the airline world. One of the reasons military pilots have always been so highly valued by airlines is that in addition to excellent training they were highly organized and highly regimented in their approach to operations. It was a constant. It really does make life easier as a new first officer if you have your procedures, flows and standardization down pat. You know what the expect from the other seat and he knows what to expect from you.

So in closing I would say that I agree with most of the comments made by the posters above with the exception of FBO training. BTW, I got my private at an FBO and found the organization of a University program a little stiff at first. I had a hard time adapting to it. My first airline job was at a very "captain oriented" place with little standardization. It has since evolved into the legacy standard that is recognizable to all major airlines. However it took some accidents to get to where it is now.

Understanding from day one that the employer has a method of dealing with all normal operations in a highly detailed manner helps make the transition to airline life easier.

That's my $.02
 
Get a job in engineering, get one of those at home flight simulator cockpits and a copy of FSX and comment about pilots landings everytime you get off a plane.

(I only kid)
 
Get your degree. Go to an aviation school if you want and get your ratings while you get your degree.

But get your degree. You'll need 1,500 hours before you can get in an airliner but I think the aviation school knocks it down a few hundred.

Get your degree.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top