Hello everyone,
my profile is as follows.
TT - 1400Hrs.
BOEING 737 300/500 TIME: 1100Hrs
(ICAO) CPL with multi engine IR .
Currently flying for the Boeing 737 300/500 in Africa
So first, at face value, you cannot do what you are suggesting. You cannot convert a foreign CPL to a Canadian ATPL. I'll be long dead from being blue in the face from saying it, but
Canada does not have a frozen ATPL. You either have a CPL or an ATPL. You can have your ATPL exams written, but it doesn't mean anything here. What you have to do is convert your foreign CPL to a Canadian CPL and then sit the required exams. You can't skip a step (I know, I tried! haha)
Second, you've given far too little information to make an informed comment about your eligibility to hold an ATPL. You have to compare your logged hours against the
CARs requirements. This includes items such as total time, total PIC, total cross-country, total cross-country at night, and total instrument. If you don't meet all the requirements, then you're not eligible for the license. So too if you don't have the experience then for a CPL. I've mentioned before how when I transferred a New Zealand CPL to my Canadian, I had some night hours to clean up because NZ required fewer hours than Canada. Thankfully, I already held a Canadian PPL, so I didn't have to jump through so many hoops, but be prepared to fall back down to a PPL if needed (although I doubt that with your experience). But, don't just compare your hours against the ATPL, compare them against the CPL to make sure you're good there. And, as rudestuff alludes to, we have a few weird rules here.
Speaking of weird, is PIC time. Canada requires
250 hours PIC time for the ATPL, of which 100 hours can come from a pilot-in-command under supervision program. The 150 hours rudestuff mentioned is a "soft" minimum for those at an air operator who have a PICUS program. Otherwise, its all the way up to 250 hours.
However, Canada
does not recognize P1U/T (or P1U/S) or PICUS earned outside of Canada
or at another operator for the purpose of licensing. This can be a stumbling block for guys and gals coming over who hope to use their previous "under supervision" time as PIC time. Canada is very straightforward in this regard: PIC time is logged by the Captain and only ever by the Captain. PICUS must be logged at the company, within 12 months of applying for the ATPL, and logged separately from PIC time. It cannot carry over from another company or another country. I raise this only because I've seen it twice where someone made the move over, thinking they had their PIC time all figured out, only to be told that nope, they only had 150 PIC, not the 250 that is required. Also, looking at the basic breakdown of your hours, you got onto a 737 with 300-ish hours, so you might be in that area where PIC time becomes problematic. So, either ask if the company has a PICUS program during your interview or go rent a plane. Better yet, if you have to rent, do a bunch of night-cross-country flights. Kill all the birds you can with a single stone.
As for job prospects, with your experience, you'd likely get a job with Air Canada or WestJet or their regional airlines, although don't expect to immediately get back onto a 737. Be ready to spend time on a Q400 or ATR. If at 1400 hours you hold out for a 737 or 320, you might be disappointed. Take what you can and run with it. Heck, you might even find something like a King Air or 1900D gets you away from autopilots and autothrottles and back into real flying again, if only for a bit!
