Renowned training or training at the best price? EASA LICENCE

[Enzo75]

Good evening,

I'm starting at the beginning of 2023 and after months of research, I kept two options.

- CAE: more expensive than 80% of ATOs but big reputation (classic ATPL because MPL impossible)
- Smart Aviation: very good feedback, quality training, price halved

I'm not necessarily looking for a price, but a €50,000 difference (plus the cost of leaving for the US) is still not insignificant.

I am aware that we largely pay for the reputation of the school. So my question is is the extra €50,000 justified?

Is this a real advantage when leaving school? What chance to go to EZY doing a classic ATPL at CAE?

Thank you in advance for your answers.

Have a good evening

[rudestuff]

No it is not justified.

If you've got the money, by all means go integrated at a school with a 'reputation' but be aware that reputation may only carry weight with a few airlines. If you're borrowing the money, borrow less and go modular.

[VariablePitchP]

Good evening,

I'm starting at the beginning of 2023 and after months of research, I kept two options.

- CAE: more expensive than 80% of ATOs but big reputation (classic ATPL because MPL impossible)
- Smart Aviation: very good feedback, quality training, price halved

I'm not necessarily looking for a price, but a €50,000 difference (plus the cost of leaving for the US) is still not insignificant.

I am aware that we largely pay for the reputation of the school. So my question is is the extra €50,000 justified?

Is this a real advantage when leaving school? What chance to go to EZY doing a classic ATPL at CAE?

Thank you in advance for your answers.

Have a good evening

What reputation? Their reputation is average at best, no different from the other sausage factories.

You’re paying an extra 20/30K to get pictures of you in a pilot outfit and big rank bars which fall out of a cereal box into your hand on day one.

Post-covid world with seeing how some schools treated their students, and the lack of benefit derived from the sausage factories in getting a job, I think you’d be a complete mug not to go modular.

if you took that extra 20/30K out as cash, put in a skip and burnt it, at least you’d get some warmth from your money. Which is more than can be said for the premium of going to a sausage factory.

[paco]

No to mention that you don't get any paperwork until you pass the course. At least with modular you get a real PPL at an early stage.

[portsharbourflyer]

Unfortunately Easyjet persist with this exclusive agreement with CAE. The only reason white tail integrated from CAE and L3 were recruited recently is because the MPL supply dried up due to covid. Easyjets long term plan is MPLs only. CAE are contracted to provide 1000 MPLs over the next 5 years to Easyjet.

So if you want to join Easy it's CAE MPL.

[Evektor]

By all means DO NOT go integrated! Integrated course produces lower experienced pilots, simply because of less training hours. And also, you have the entire theoretical course at the beginning, you're basically studying something that you don't even have practical reference to - e.g. you studying all about propellers and instruments, but you haven't even seen one in real life, or experience how it works, what kind of sound does it create. Go to a school where you don't get only 200 hours with MCC included, go to one, that you get as much hours as possible 220+, without MCC. When you get the license, you're still a newbie, and every hours spent in the airplane or with instructor counts!

[Hawker_Hurricane]

For 50.000 EUR difference you get a A320 type rating and 300 hrs Line Training... on top of 55.000 EUR for training.

[spitfirejock]

The very fact the same question is being asked over and over again tells us all we need to know. Let's be honest, the lure of the 'big schools' can be overwhelming to newbies, slick websites and large advertising budgets are powerful, same in any other industry! The David & Goliath story will go on, just need for the David's to shout louder!

I continue to be astonished at people who believe they need to spend $100K or more when they can get the same (or even better training) for at least 30% less. Having said that, I would be suspicious in this day and age with rising costs of fuel and everything which bolts on to an aircraft to keep it flying and airworthy costing twice what it did 5 years ago, that $50,000 is realistic. It was the right price 5 years ago but perhaps not today? For those in the industry will know, aircraft themselves have more than doubled in cost, and borrowing money is not cheap anymore.

So always take a balanced view, there are just as many horror stories of scams and cheap prices and bankruptcies....buyer beware and do the in depth research.

SJ

[hamburgerboy]

For 50.000 EUR difference you get a A320 type rating and 300 hrs Line Training... on top of 55.000 EUR for training.

Look, as Haweker said, if you have 120k to spend you can either:

Go to CAE for a fATPL with 160h TT on c172/da42

or

Go to a cheap outfit like Bartolini or Smart for a fATPL and buy 500h on type (B737/A320)


Ofcourse the latter will make you more valueable to a company.
In any case I would just keep your fATPL training costs to a minimum, just be wary of the quality. In Eastern Europe Smart Aviation and Bartolini have been proven to be solid quality, others like Goldwings etc. appear to be lesser.
I would suggest to look around in Spain and Greece as well.