Aspiring Pilot looking for Advice
 

My name is Kyle. I am a South African citizen that has lived and will be graduating with their 4 year BBA in April 2024, in Ontario Canada. I wanted to get some advice on my journey to becoming a airline pilot.

As a South African, I have been in Canada on a student visa. As I now look to start my flight training, I am interested in training in the USA, and Canada as my 2nd choice. However, to the best of my research abilities, the flight schools with which I have enquired all require their students to be US citizens or have a green card. I have neither. Some of the flights schools I have enquired with are ATP, ETFA, SATC, Skyborne AND Wayman.

So my question to you is do you know of any flight schools that have an accelerated program, beginning with zero experience, that is available to international students? I am particularly interested in airline academies, if possible.

I would appreciate any advice on this matter, and any advice in general for an aspiring pilot, who dreams of taking the skies and building a career I can be proud of.

Thanks in advance,
Kyle

Hi Kyle,

Canada doesn't have the same setup that the US has with accelerated programs and that is, in part, because we don't have a 1,500-hour minimum to fly transport category aircraft (airliners). With that said many airlines do have agreements or programs with some of the colleges and universities for preferential hiring. For example, both Jazz and WestJet Encore have agreements with Mount Royal University. There are a few places that come close to being an aviation academy in Canada (Harv's Air, Brampton Flight Centre, Moncton Flight College), but none that I'd class as an "airline academy".

But before you even consider where to go, the advice I'd give you at this stage is to ask yourself why. Why do you want to be an airline pilot? What is it about the career that entices you? Think long and hard on this. Depending on your age, this is something you could be doing for 30 or 40 years. That's a long time to live with any regrets, especially when you're making six figures and the money starts to handcuff you. Is is love or lust?

I ask you to ask yourself these questions not to put you off, but because I know a lot of pilots who make it to the airlines to realize this is not at all what they want, but they feel stuck and stay, becoming miserable over time. They thought they loved the idea of flying for an airline, only to realize they were lusting over an idea that had no basis in truth. They then age so quickly, some have had multiple marriages or have bad relationships with their kids, while others become the type of person everyone avoids. All because they didn't take the time to ask themselves why. Don't chase destinations, money, or tin. It's all about lifestyle. I know of guys flying float planes in Vancouver who make a quarter of what I do, but they're home for dinner every night and because of reciprocal agreements they get the same basic flight passes that I do at a major airline. They're so happy because they've never missed a birthday, Christmas, or other important event. Also, don't chase tin, because after 6 months, an airplane is just an airplane. I had far more fun flying a King Air than the 737.

There are so many different ways to make a great living in aviation, that it's a shame to run past all of them just to get to the airlines without having asked why.

Once you've done that, then figure out where you're going to learn to fly.

Kyle, is this a wind-up? None of these require a green card. Every year thousands of international students get a training visa and train all over the US.

Rudestuff is correct.

Why stay in Canada to do your flight training with no prospects of a job where you can go to the US and do your flight training at a flight school that is connected with a regional airline. After you get your Commercial Multi-IFR, you'll be sitting right seat on a DHC-8 or a CRJ.

Lots of jobs in Canada right now, many of which are hiring at the 250 to 500-hour level into a DH8 or CRJ and well below the hour requirements for flying the same type in the US. And if you don't limit yourself to the airlines, you can darned near have your pick of spots.