AboutDottie Norkus Expertise I can address questions about airline pilot employment & entry level airline careers in the United States, women pilots, flight training, pilot certification, U.S. flight scholarships (mostly for women), aviation & airline safety topics, aviation accident investigation and airline operations.
***Please note, I cannot address flight training & career queries from outside the United States, or aero engineering degree programs/careers, aviation management topics. ****
Experience U.S. Regional airline pilot with 15 years previous experience in airline ground operations. I have previously flown as a commercial skydive pilot and ferry pilot.
Organizations International Organization of Women Pilots, Women In Aviation International, Aircraft Owners & Pilots Organization, Air Line Pilots Association
Question QUESTION: I just arrived from France and I was wondering if here, after graduating from an university like Embry riddle we could enter directly in a major (would doing a type rating advantage me)? My brother is grnow 23 years old and he is a first officer for Air france, he graduadted from and aeronautical university which is the ENAC and now he's a pilot on air france, can i do the same course than him here ?
ANSWER: Leeroy,
There is no such thing as "direct entry", ab-initio or cadet programs into the American major airlines. Pilot career progression in the United States is different from abroad, where very low experience aviators with a "multi-crew" license are often hired to fly Boeing or Airbus aircraft. The major airlines in the U.S. hire pilots based on the amount of flight time they have, not where they went to school or what aviation program in which they majored. A fresh graduate of Embry-Riddle (or any other aviation university) is not qualified to fly for the major airlines here as they usually require 2,500 or more flight hours of experience to apply, regardless of whether or not the applicant has a type rating. Applicants to the American major carriers have all gained such experience flying for regional airlines, the military, or corporate/charter operators.
In Europe, they also have the "frozen ATPL" certificate and it is common to purchase type ratings with very low flight experience to get a job. In the United States, we have no such thing as a frozen ATPL. One cannot take the knowledge exams, get their frozen ATPL and later when they have amassed the flight time simply have their ATP pilot certificate. You either meet the Airline Transport Pilot criteria or you do not. All of the major U.S. carriers require an ATP pilot certificate to apply, which requires at least 1,500 flight hours. Also, there is only one airline in the USA that requires applicants get their own type rating: Southwest. Unless one plans to apply with Southwest Airlines, purchasing your own type rating to get an airline job is virtually unheard of here. Applicants don't buy type ratings to try and make their resume look better to get hired as it is too costly. Except for aspiring Southwest pilots, applicants know their airline will pay to train them in the equipment they are assigned when hired.
That said, the ENAC Air Transport Pilot (EPL) program is similar to a few programs offered by flight schools affiliated with U.S. regional airlines, however graduates are not necessarily hired by the regional affiliate. Schools such as Delta Connection Academy, Pan Am Flight Academy, ATP Flight School and a few others were able to get their graduates regional airline interviews at very reduced flight experience (about 200-300 flight hours when the norm is 2-3 times that) due to their agreement with the regional carrier and their airline oriented flight training. This interview often resulted in a job but was by no means a guaranteed job offer.
Currently, pilots enrolled in such programs may be finding it impossible to get a job as most airlines are not hiring. If they are, there are hundreds if not thousands of pilots who are much more experience looking for jobs that will get hired before a low experience flight academy graduate.
