Start training at 38
 

Hi all. I’ve read a lot about people’s view on the age when airlines tend not to accept applications for older people.
I’ve always dreamed of being an airline pilot, I went to university and got a degree, started a career and purchased a house and managed to save enough money to start training.
However after all that I’m now 37 and will be 38 shortly.
I live in Ireland so I’m happy to move to another country to train but would essentially like to work for Aer Lingus or Ryanair in Dublin after training is competed.
If I spend the money on training and I’m qualified before I’m 40 are the airlines just going to pass me or ignore me for guys in their early 20s.
I’d like to hear some feedback on these two airlines hiring newly trained cadets at 39/40 years old.

Your age here isn’t the problem, at all. You’re in your 30s, you’ll have 25 years of career if you want to. What might be worth considering is having a really careful reset before your start training. It’s basically going back to school, and it’s fairly full on. Not particularly difficult, but quite intense.

Jobs market wise I’d caution about going into it with blinkers for just a Dublin base. Unless you grab Aer Lingus out of the gate you may well be somewhere else for a few years. Did you apply for the Aer Lingus cadet scheme? That’s your golden ticket. Otherwise BA/TUI, any scheme you can get on is worth a look as your first job is the hard one to get. Get 500 hours and you can then apply almost anywhere as a direct entry pilot, not a cadet. Makes a big difference.

Are you prepared to spend 12-18 months flying from Gdańsk, Inverness, Faro, wherever it may be, before you can settle where you want to?