An aspiring pilot can do their flight training and earn their pilot certificates and advanced ratings via these civilian routes:
Despite what you may have heard, you don't have to join the military to become an airline pilot. Times have changed greatly over the last decade. Of all the pilots hired by major US carriers in 2008, a small 28% had military backgrounds. Compare this to 1992 when about 90% had military experience! (Source: Air Inc) For those on the career track, you should also know that a degree in aviation is not necessary! However some choose to go to an aviation university as the curriculum interests them and they can get college credit for their flight training. There are many 'big name' schools such as Embry Riddle Aeronautical University or the University of North Dakota that offer programs that run upwards of $100K for a 4 year degree. Students earn their Private Pilot certificate, Instrument & Multi-engine ratings, Commercial pilot license and often the Flight Instructor certificates too while doing their degree. However, many smaller schools offer aviation degrees as well for much less money. To research aviation universities go to the University Aviation Association website. Upon graduation you should have about 250-300 hours going this route, unless you became an instructor as part of their program and built up additional experience. Unfortunately, this may not be enough to get an airline job unless the university has an airline affiliated "bridge program" associated with their flying program. However, even if they many airlines are not taking candidates from such programs as they are not currently (1/'09) hiring.
There are also several aviation academy programs that tout their affiliations with certain regional carriers as their 'fast track' to the airlines. Mesa Pilot Development, Pan Am Academy, ATP Flight School and the Delta Connection Academy are some big names. These are the schools that advertise in Plane & Pilot or Flying magazine each month claiming "We'll make you an airline pilot!". You get the same certificates & ratings at an academy as you would at an aviation university but without the degree. Successful graduates of such academy programs are offered an interview with the academy partner airline (or airlines) at substantially lower flight experience than the airlines usually require. This is not a job guarantee but an interview only. Such programs typically cost $50K-$80K and graduates may have 200-500 hours flight time. If a graduate is not hired by the affiliate regional, they may not have enough flight experience to meet other regional airlines hiring qualifications to get hired elsewhere. If that is the case, they will need to build their flight experience via other avenues to be marketable as a commercial pilot. As an example, here are the pros & cons a former student had to say about The Delta Connection Academy. To read about other schools, check out the Jetcareers.com Message Boards as there are folders for each school by name with hundreds of posts.
Of all those kind of programs, the ATP Career Track program seems to be one of the most cost effective, at about $55,000, from zero flight time. The webmaster flew with two pilots who did the ATP program from zero experience and were hired 14 months after they started with a regional at about 400 hours. See their page for info and read opinions about it on the message forums above. Unfortunately for many aspiring pilots, this 'quick route' to the airlines only works well when the airlines are hiring and 2009 looks like it is going to be a grim one for pilots as many are finding themselves at risk of furlough (lay off) or a slowed career progression as hiring has come to a crawl or stopped at both the majors and regionals. Lastly, a local flight school or flying club is often the most affordable way to get all the necessary certificates & ratings. Some airports do not have flying clubs, but it's worth investigating as clubs are often not-for-profit and for their members. They have no overhead or staff to pay, so they are often less costly than flight schools on the same airport. One can typically expect to spend around $20-25K on their Private & Commercial certificates plus Instrument & Multi-engine ratings if done via the school/club route. However, after getting the private certificate many, many extra hours of flying must be logged to reach the level of experience required by the FAA take the commercial flight test (250 flight hours), so that can easily add well over $10K more in aircraft rental costs to reach that level.
Here is general Breakdown of the Cost of the PPL done via a local school/club.
For more information on the FAA requirements for the Private Pilot, Commercial Pilot and Instrument & Mutli-engine ratings, see this link- http://www.flightinfo.com/learntofly.htm
Also, check out the FAA Student Pilot Guide .pdf booklet for more information.
The minimum amount of flight time one must have to take the FAA Commercial Pilot flight test is 250 hours, unless you do your training via "Part 141" school then it's 190 hours. A pilot must have a Commercial pilot ceerticifate to get a job flying any size aircraft, for any type of business for compensation. The major airlines minimum pilot requirements, aka "minimums", are around 2,500 hours and the regional carriers mins are 500-1,000 hours with at least 100 of that being flown in multi-engine aircraft (the minimum varies by airline). During the latter part of 2007 and early 2008, the regional airlines were hurting for pilots and many have lowered their minimum qualifications from what used to be the standard of 1,000 down to 500 hours. Two even require only commercial, multi-engine, instrument pilots certificate with no hour minimums hours at all! However, "competitive minimums", or what the average flight times of their new hires are, may be significantly above the minimums required to apply. However, due to the rising cost of jet fuel in the summer of 2008, many major airlines have put their hiring plans on hold. This means the regional pilots looking to move up will have to wait for the next hiring wave and won't be moving on soon. Therefore, it is very likely that the regional airlines will soon be raising their minimum requirements again.
Obviously a pilot with a brand new commercial license (not acquired via a bridge program) does not meet the airlines hiring minimums. How do they get the flight time required? New commercial pilots can fly several kinds of jobs that will enable them to build up their flight experience to the airline minimums. The typical civilian career path is a time building job to get to a regional carrier, then after several years there they apply with a major carrier. Flying cargo is an option too, however most small cargo operators like Fed Ex feeder or Ameriflight minimums are slightly higher than the regional airlines. Legally, pilots must have 1200 hours to fly freight for small 'FAA Part 135 operators'. Large freight operators like UPS or Fed Ex are considered 'Part 121' (just like the passenger airlines) and their hiring minimums are on par with the majors carriers. Their competitive hiring mins are far and beyond their mins (many thousands of hours of jet experience), and like Southwest or JetBlue pilot jobs at these companies are very sought after.
"Time building jobs" are:
An aspiring commercial pilot would do well to network in the aviation community as they earned their ratings. Many employers will hire a face they know over a faceless resume. Chatting up pilots already doing these sorts of jobs provides a personal contact for the future. Banner tow & skydive operators can be found in the phone book or online. This site provide some good advice for skydive pilots- DiverDriver.com. Call your local radio station and ask for the contact information for their traffic watch operator. Seek them out with resume in hand. Even if they aren't hiring at the moment, you will be a familiar face if you check back every month or so and they may consider you at a future date. Often the flight school where a pilot does their flight training may hire them to teach for their school when they earn their Certified Flight Instructor/"CFI". (You need this additional rating to be able to teach student pilots.) This link also provides some ideas for building flight time. Once a pilot builds up the additional hours above the 250 they had when they got their commercial license and meet regional hiring mins, they can then start to apply.
To read about airline specific interview experiences, and what the applicants flight times were, visit this page-
AviationInterviews.com
Back in 2003, 68% of airline pilots hired were from a civilian background according to Aviation Information Resources (aka AIR, Inc). This is a trend that will remain steady or increase over the next few years as fewer military pilots are available compared to decades past and the pool of qualified civilian pilots increases.
Additionally, "The age range for civilian new-hires at the major airlines spans from 27 to 42 years-old, with the average age being 34.6 years and 5,419 total hours and 40.0 years and 3,205 total hours for pilots with a military background. Of those civilian pilots interviewed at the majors, 30% have corrected vision, 90% have a four year degree or higher, 90% have an ATP and 80% an FE written", according to Kit Darby, retired United Airlines Captain and president of AIR, Inc.
"If the interviewing pilot is younger than average, or if they are starting a new career later in life, they need not have the average flight time or ratings to be competitive. As future airline pilots approach competitive qualifications and experience levels, they must strive to be both patient and persistent to ensure they have the best chance at the job they want. In today's job market, if they meet the minimums, they should apply" Mr. Darby added.
Here is a great .pdf file link on the hiring trends and statistics on the US airline industry, presented by Mr. Darby at the 33rd FAA Aviation Forecast Conference in March of 2008.
Factors affecting pilot pay:
A pilots pay is figured upon the hourly rate for their seat and their equipment based upon the pay grade for their seniority. Each company also has a set 'minimum guarantee' flight hour pay in their pilot contract. This is generally about 75 hours per month but varies slightly by airline. (A few majors guarantee is only 65!) However, in no case will the pilot earn less than the 'minimum guarantee'. They may fly less than 75 actual flight hours, but they will still be paid for the 75 per their guarantee. If they get a flight schedule that is blocked for more flight hours than the minimum guarantee, they will then get paid for the greater amount of time flown instead, plus per diem. Flight crew make about $1-3 per hour in 'per diem' for every hour they are away from their domicile on a trip to cover expenses. This generally adds a few hundred dollars to their pay check.
A general comparison of starting monthly First Officer pay by airline*:
Here is a Captain pay comparison* at 12 years of seniority, by the largest type in fleet (best paying):
Hourly pay rates from APC as of July 2007. To find out what the specific base pay is for each major, cargo or charter operator by seat & seniority visit-
Airline Pilot Central
Additionally, each carriers minimum hiring requirements, fleet information and domiciles are detailed at this site above.
You can view another general pay comparison between the major carriers by fleet types at these links-
Captain Hourly Pay Rates Comparison By Fleet Type
Major First Officer Hourly Pay Rates By Fleet Type
The Regional Pay Scales
Many are surprised at the fact expressed in this billboard. In the civilian career path progression, a pilot will usually work at a regional carrier before moving on to a major airline. Regional new hires make close to $20K a year to start! While some regionals pay $30K after 3 years or so, it takes several years at other to make that much. Starting out in this career one must expect to make some very low wages until they begin to build seniority with their airline and move up the pay scale.
Largest connection carrier, "Express" or regional affiliate airlines starting gross monthly pay:
The Captain rates are not listed as they vary by fleet type and carrier. Again, to find out what the specific base pay is for these carriers by seat & seniority visit- Airline Pilot Central
Schedules vary greatly by airline. They are very dependent on what carrier a pilot flies for, the kind of schedules needed operationally, a pilots seniority (schedules are bid according to seniority) and what aircraft they fly. Some pilots chose schedules that are away a lot to get more per diem, other like "day trips" so they finish in their domicile every night. Some bid schedules according to which have the most flight hours (90+) so they get paid the most and while other look for the ones that offer the most days off. The maximum number of hours an airline pilot may fly per month is 100 (or 1,000 hours in a year). While others may bid lines that fly the least to be off as much as possible. Pilots are based in a certain city or 'domicile' and their trips begin and end there. A pilot can chose to live in another city if they want to, but commuting to/from work is not part of their scheduled duty day and it is on their own time. Time spent commuting (including overnight stays if necessary) is also unpaid.
A typical months schedule or a 'line' could have several 'flight sequences' consisting of day trips (out & back to domicile every day), two to four day trips away from base with overnights in various cities in the route system or a combination of any of these. Some schedules fly certain 'routes' or city pairs repeatedly while other may go all over the airlines route system.
Here is an example of a regional airline 4 day trip that flies between the outstations and domicile repeatedly
As a new hire a pilot can expect to be 'on reserve' (unless the airline is growing rapidly). Being on 'reserve' means that you do not have a set monthly flight schedule or a 'line' (aka a 'hard line'), but instead are called as needed to cover flights where the originally scheduled crew member is absent. Only days off are specified on a reserve line and you get 10-12 off a month (it varies by airline). A reserve pilot can be on 'ready reserve', aka 'airport standby', or be a 'home reserve'. A home reserve pilot is on call for a specific time period during their assigned work day and must be able to report to the airport to cover a flight (usually within 2 hours) if paged or called by crew scheduling. A ready reserve pilot will sit at the airport, in uniform, for a specified period each day they are assigned to work ready so they can cover a flight at a moments notice if called. While 'ready reserve' is a very junior schedule, there are some pilots who are fairly senior on the seniority list that chose to take a reserve schedule. Reserve pilots often do not fly the minimum guarantee each month and sit around waiting to be called for a flight. The still get paid their minimum guarantee even if they fly zero hours that month. Because of that, some senior pilots who live in domicile bid reserve as they are hoping crew scheduling will not call them and they can spend the day doing other things and get paid.
How Long will it take to "upgrade" or make Captain?
The answer varies quite a bit based on numerous factors like attrition, aircraft deliveries, route expansion ect. Also, since most airlines are in a period of no growth or furloughing in 2009, the upgrades times will only get longer. As of Jan 2009 here is a standing of the most junior captain (by aircraft type / domicile) hired by regional airline (* indicates they have pilots on furlough):
Note: Republic Airlines, Chautauqua Airlines, and Shuttle America are all Republic Holdings
Source: stats compiled from airlinepilotcentral.com
The major airlines take much longer to upgrade. For the most junior upgrade at the majors, see the source link above.
Thinking of an airline career and want to try it out? The webmaster recommends the
"Ever fantasize about what it might be like to fly heavy iron for a major airline? Got a spare $475? Well then, have we got a treat for you! There's a little-known weekend program that offers pilots of any experience level the opportunity to go through a grueling 10-hour cram course on Boeing 737 systems and procedures, plus two hours in a 737 cockpit procedures trainer and two more hours flying a full-motion 737 simulator."
Visit http://www.b737.com/index.htm for more info.
This site has photos of the course taken by an ATOP student and here is the blog of another ATOP student.
Website comments & suggestions or general questions are welcome! Contact the webmaster
Links of interest for Aspiring Pilots
BecomeApilot.com
BeApilot.com
FlightInfo.com
Private2ATP.com
The Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association
Flight Training Magazine- Students get a FREE trail subscription!
Aviation Education Scholarships & Grants
Links of interest for the Future Airline Pilot
Air Line Pilots Association: Airline Career Information
Jetcareers.com
Tips On Becoming an Airline Pilot
AviationInterviews.com- The 'gouge' on the interview process by airline with personal experiences!
Airline specific Message Boards for exchange of information by current and aspiring regional pilots:
American Eagle
Chautauqua
Compass
Express Jet
Great Lakes Airlines
Mesa
Trans States
