Commercial Pilot
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Commercial Pilot
Hello there
I am in my middle age crisis , I had enough of my job , I love to fly and I love to skydive , I am a qualified skydiver , I am 48 years old male living and working in the UK I have become British Citizen few years ago so I hold a British Passport I have a lot of savings and I am thinking to blow them on aviation becoming a commercial pilot , I am thinking to go to South Africa for one year to get my commercial licence and do around 200 - 250 flying hours Can you get a pilot job anywhere in the world with this flying hours and a commercial pilot licence ? What is criteria and minimum flying hours to get a job as a commercial pilot ? I need a honest and a realistic advice , thank you !
I am in my middle age crisis , I had enough of my job , I love to fly and I love to skydive , I am a qualified skydiver , I am 48 years old male living and working in the UK I have become British Citizen few years ago so I hold a British Passport I have a lot of savings and I am thinking to blow them on aviation becoming a commercial pilot , I am thinking to go to South Africa for one year to get my commercial licence and do around 200 - 250 flying hours Can you get a pilot job anywhere in the world with this flying hours and a commercial pilot licence ? What is criteria and minimum flying hours to get a job as a commercial pilot ? I need a honest and a realistic advice , thank you !
It would be wise to first consider what nationality you hold and then get a license from that state. If you’re a British citizen, then you should aim to get a UK CAA CPL. South African license, while being cheaper, will be useless in the UK and you’d have to pay for a conversion/extra training.
PPRuNe Handmaiden
As allert has said, you will need to convert your licence to the country where you're living.
The CPL is effectively a licence to learn and earn. You'll also need an Instrument Rating to be employable in most countries.
Since the UK left the EU, job opportunities for those with UK issued CPL (plus IR plus ATPL subjects) are limited to G-reg aircraft. (eg easyJet UK, British Airways, Jet2 etc)
If you hold citizenship in Europe, then it might be worth getting an EASA licence.
While the Middle East and Far East companies take pilots from around the world, they usually have several thousand hours of medium jet time and they still have to do a conversion to the local authority's licence.
However, here's the cold harsh truth. Being 48 means you have an effective 17 years from now to recoup the costs of training. By the time you've finished, you'll be closer to 50.
Rightly or wrongly, many airline employers are reluctant to take on low houred pilots of that age. So if your goal is to be a captain of a long haul jet, you're pretty much out of luck.
While it's not impossible, you may be on the drag curve to get a short haul command too. It's not impossible but you'll be competing with hundreds of early 20s pilots.
If your ambitions are to be a flight instructor, then your age becomes less relevant, but you won't be earning decent money to recoup your costs.
Before you spend any money, get a First Class Medical done and whatever you do, don't hand the flight school a bunch of cash. Pay as you go.
The CPL is effectively a licence to learn and earn. You'll also need an Instrument Rating to be employable in most countries.
Since the UK left the EU, job opportunities for those with UK issued CPL (plus IR plus ATPL subjects) are limited to G-reg aircraft. (eg easyJet UK, British Airways, Jet2 etc)
If you hold citizenship in Europe, then it might be worth getting an EASA licence.
While the Middle East and Far East companies take pilots from around the world, they usually have several thousand hours of medium jet time and they still have to do a conversion to the local authority's licence.
However, here's the cold harsh truth. Being 48 means you have an effective 17 years from now to recoup the costs of training. By the time you've finished, you'll be closer to 50.
Rightly or wrongly, many airline employers are reluctant to take on low houred pilots of that age. So if your goal is to be a captain of a long haul jet, you're pretty much out of luck.
While it's not impossible, you may be on the drag curve to get a short haul command too. It's not impossible but you'll be competing with hundreds of early 20s pilots.
If your ambitions are to be a flight instructor, then your age becomes less relevant, but you won't be earning decent money to recoup your costs.
Before you spend any money, get a First Class Medical done and whatever you do, don't hand the flight school a bunch of cash. Pay as you go.
Last edited by redsnail; 7th Jan 2024 at 19:28.
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hi guys some knowledge about myself I'm 28 and a BRITISH CITIZEN now I did my ATPL INTERGATED in GREECE global aviation.sa graduated and got my EASA LICENSE in 2016 at the time I was 18. And hadn't found a job applied to a few companies but didn't get in from 2 airlines then about 2019 I decided to see if there were any opportunities as there were not a lot of job positions for cadet pilots as every company has their cadet pools so went through a hard process of deciding my type rating on the 737NG at the time there we a lot of job availabilities "before the whole max incident" I did my type rating in Lithuania with BAA training. when I finished my TR and went to credit it to my license in December of 2019 the pandemic derailed the whole thing from then I have been working around to keep my license up to date and TR. I tried applying to some companies but it got increasingly harder ever since Brexit a lot of companies require you to have an EU passport or resident permit which I can't get and the hard thing is there are a lot of jobs now I could but I am missing the EU requirement.
does anyone know where I could apply in the UK or anywhere?
please help!!!!!
does anyone know where I could apply in the UK or anywhere?
please help!!!!!
PPRuNe Handmaiden
So henry6024, you're a UK citizen with an EASA licence? Did you have an EASA licence issued by the UK CAA?
I am not sure what's harder, getting residency in an EU country or convert your EASA licence to a UK CAA one.
NetJets Europe would be an option if you had 1500 hours etc.
So, my advice would be to either establish EU residency (how?....) or find the most cost effective way to convert your EASA ticket to a UK CAA one. You'll keep both giving you some flexibility.
Unfortunately, the easy paper work SOLI conversion door shut some time ago. It cost me £900 to get my UK CAA licence "back".
Good luck. Brexit... the gift that keeps on giving!
I am not sure what's harder, getting residency in an EU country or convert your EASA licence to a UK CAA one.
NetJets Europe would be an option if you had 1500 hours etc.
So, my advice would be to either establish EU residency (how?....) or find the most cost effective way to convert your EASA ticket to a UK CAA one. You'll keep both giving you some flexibility.
Unfortunately, the easy paper work SOLI conversion door shut some time ago. It cost me £900 to get my UK CAA licence "back".
Good luck. Brexit... the gift that keeps on giving!
Last edited by redsnail; 7th Jan 2024 at 19:28.
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Hi Catalin, I have more or less the same problem, are you romanian? I am planning to start soon my training, I am at the moment in the aviation industry but I would like to start soon flying, PM me your social media and we can talk more !
