Originally Posted by
WindyTurtle
I don't know much about Aviomar - besides being a RYR partner - but I've heard really good things about AFTA overall. They seem to have a large, modern fleet; in-house maintenance (I think); flying from a commercial airport; great instructors and training; varied weather for tricky IFR flying. As always, get yourself a class 1 medical first and visit your shortlisted schools in person, but AFTA seems like it's in a good position at the moment.
I visited a pilot careers fair where I got to speak to AFTA. I explained my fears of integrated schools collapsing during training. They said that due to another ATO having folded and leaving students in a sticky situation previously, the Irish Aviation Authority has since ensured that Irish schools have regular financial checks (every year i think?) to ensure that the school can actually deliver to its paying customers/students. Obviously, keep in mind that this is what was said by them as a recruitment/marketing team; however I'm sure you could contact the Irish Aviation Authority to confirm all this with paper trails and check that AFTA is financially stable.
Thank you very very much! Yeah I've heard very good things about both. I will be gathering as much information as possible. thanks for the tip!