A little competition or protectionism is understandable. This is just outrageous.
I am so grateful for the training I got in the US. I had a PPL when I arrived there, and it cost me less than 10000 USD to get a CPL Multi/IR (more than 15 years ago). With my small budget, the US was the only option, I got a validation of my European PPL in ONE HOUR and for FREE (previous appointment required). It cost less than 50 USD to get ALL the ezam prep books for you studies. It cost me 900 Euros to get the whole written series from Bristol aviation....If it wasn'tfor the US, I'd be growing potatoes instead of flying planes.
But the best gift I got from this, is a license that
never expires and is recognized worldwide (aside EU), as long as I keep flying and renew my medical, there is virtually nothing else to do.
Flying internationally now based outside Europe (first by necessity, then by choice), I will have to fork out money to maintain a JAR license, although I fly everyday for an airline with a different licensing system, on the same aircraft type.
It is not only penalizing the pilots from outside EU, but also all EU pilots who had to move abroad due to economic uncertainties in EU Land, and fly now on a different aviation authority.
Anyway even within JAR territory, there is so much crap still between countries, for example the French DGAC requires to apply for a
license validation from another JAR member state in order to fly a french registered airplane...
, or you have to go to your country of (JAR) license issue in order to pass your English proficiency... Thank you EASA, you make my life complicated, and you cost me more money than it should, not to mention the insult it has become to international pilots, after reading this article.
Flex