If you take the ATPL exams as many will advise you to do, there is about 3 times as much work, and once taken, they are only valid for 36 months to obtain both a CPL and an IR (Beware!)
Not sure what you are advising Noggin, but, from the CAA website:
ATPL(A) EXAMINATION CREDITS
We would like to correct a growing misconception within the aviation industry that the holder of a UK CPL/IR(A) with ‘frozen’ ATPL(A) credits will lose those credits if he/she does not obtain a national ATPL(A) by 30 June 2002. It is true that CAA will not be able to issue a UK CPL(A) or ATPL(A) on or after 1 July 2002 except to a pilot who held that same licence on 30 June 2002 (ANO Article 22(2)(d), which means that a national licence can be renewed but an initial issue cannot be made. However, there is no necessity for a UK licence holder to convert to a JAR-FCL licence by any specific date and national licences can remain valid, so that a UK CPL/IR(A) can be renewed after 1 July 2002 and the ATPL(A) theoretical knowledge credit will be retained. After 1 July 2002, at the point where a national ATPL(A) would have been issued, and provided the pilot meets all the criteria for conversion of a national to JAR-FCL ATPL(A) as detailed in Appendix 1 to JAR-FCL 1.005, the CAA can issue a JAR-FCL ATPL(A). Until such time as EC Directive 91/670/EEC is withdrawn, and there appear to be no plans to do this in the immediate future, a UK national licence can still be validated for use in other EU States.
The only circumstance in which all holders of a UK national licence would be forced to obtain a JAR-FCL licence would be if the EU mandated such a move. The Authority has argued against such a suggestion and intends to continue to do so. However, in such an eventuality CAA would seek amendment to JAR-FCL to ensure that ATPL(A) knowledge credits are retained.
Date 2 February 2000
Apologies if this is not relevant but there are so many people that this concerns it is very important to get the information across.
CAA:
