Global Aviation SA, Greece. Any experience?
 

Hello!
This flight school in Greece offers a fully integrated ATPL for 62 000 euros. I have researched a lot about the school and I really have a good impression so far.
I am considering doing the admission test and begin early next year.

However, I am not going to make a decision before I am 110 % confident Global Aviation is the right school for me.
I want to start at a well established flight school with a good reputation. I don't see the point spending 120 000 euros for a "famous/overpriced" flight school, when you can get exactly the same papers for half the price.

Does anyone on this forum have more information about this flight school? Are there a lot of international students? Any own experience? I would really appreciate it! :)

Best regards!

Go and visit the place..!! Talk to as many people as you can !!

I will visit them, but first I just want get more information about the school from people here on the internet.

Whatever people post "here on the internet" always take with a pinch of salt. Visit the place and get your own feel for it.

i visited the school once and was left very satisfied,At the very end i opted out for a modular course and so i never actually enroled. I sat my austro control exams at global aviation as a distance learning student from BGS and was very happy with their treatment very, proffesional and friendly. Nevertheless i would strongly suggest on paying them a visit in athens and megara to have a look at the school yourself

Hey, did you end up going, and if yes how was it? I'm considering it too

thinking of attending
 

I am currently looking for the best possible flight school for me to complete my atpl intergrated and Global Aviation has came across as the best for many reasons such as price,accom and the weather. I think i will fly out and vist the school before i make my final decision, can anyone give me any advice?

Hello Artic Flyer,
I am Instructor and Commercial Pilot that did my license conversion to EASA at Global very recently. I have seen many flight schools and worked at some myself and I can say that according to my experience Global is a good place to be. The staff is friendly and is always ready to help you with your training and other matters that are unrelated like housing or dealing with the authorities like the HCAA or searching for an AME for your Medical.
The planes are well maintained as Piper has repair center at the same airport.

I was really impressed by the profesional behaviour of the instructors and also their very high level of knowledge. Many of them have a long career in the Greek AirForce or at the airlines. For example.
All the instructos I had when I was converting my IR where actually Captains or First Officers at Greek Airlines, teaching you from the very beginning high quality IFR knowledge. As an FI myself I was highly impressed.
At the same time Global is a bit like a family, people take care of each other, and you can see that they truly enjoy what they are doing. They welcomed me with open arms, and even though I was only going to be with them for 2 months I made many good friends and always felt comfortable and listened at the school.

Of course like any other Flight School there are some downsides. Global Aviation operates out of Megara, which is a military airport. This can lead to frequent changes in the schedule due to military manuevers. Be prepared for delays or cancellations as these activities are announced I believe in the early morning of each day. I must say that in my case, even though I had to cancel a few times, Global managed to finish my training 2 weeks before their program advertised.

The school is building its own facility at another airport in order to bypass this issue. I saw the field myself, but cant tell you when it will be operational.

The weather in Greece is spectacular but winds can be quite high, which will help you really learn those stick and rudders skills, and may lead to some cancellations.But if you put the time, you study the syllabus and prepare for each lesson, I am sure that you will be able to get the training done in good time. Living in Greece is also quite cheap compared to other countries so I would take that into account too. The school also has some cadet programs with AGEAN or EPST that trains where Transavia Cadets due their training,so plenty of International Students. I never felt treated differently or that they were given any preference. Again I only did a short conversion so I cant speak for other people.

I honestly had a great experience at Global, there is no perfect flight school, but they do a good job and are by far one of the best schools I have trained or worked for.
It is definetly worth a visit, which is a must if you are seriously considering it.

If you have any further questions please fell free to send me a message and we can tallk a bit more.

Cheers!

Sound very much like a post made by the flight school!

Hahaha I know right... ;) Look, its just my experience... and guess what this time it was a good one.

I think its important that we share also the positive side of an industry that is hard and ruthless and where they are so many horror stories involving flight school, debts and broken dreams.
Again the school is not perfect. No school is. Things will happen... But my experience was good.

I made a post about me looking for a place to convert my licenses back in 2023. Just to prove that I am not in any way afiliated with Global.. You can find it under
PPruNe Forums, Wannabes Forums, Professional Pilot training, Is it time to come back?

I cant put the link because I dont have the 8 posts.

I can vouch for Icaro806, I looked him up after seeing the comment about a flight school post. Positive reviews always seem to sound suspicious in certain industries for some reason, quite funny really.

I've just arranged to visit them in Megara in a couple of weeks time so i'll report back afterwards.

Did you see their ground school in Athens or were you only at the airport?

Hi RHT,
I only went briefly to the school in Athens for my ICAO Level English Exam. The building is fairly new, its located on the outer ring of the city next to main highway, so the area is not the prettiest I must admit.
Except for that day I spent most of my time at Megara Airport.

Ok great. How about accommodation, did you source your own or do they have some linked with the school? What did you pay per month, roughly?

My accomodation was very short term. The school has agreements with an agency that manages apartments and rooms. Most are in Megara, some are in Nea Peramos. I was in the latter. I must say that in my case the accomodation I chose was taking into account that I was going to be there for a short period time, so I could live without certain things for a bit. The agency wanted 650 with all included. Most of the students end up arranging their own housing to make it cheaper and also better once they have settled in. The school has pick up system with vans and drivers and will always drive you to and from the aiport before any activity, so I saved a ton in transportation.

OK thanks for the info.

Yes. After my BSC Aviation Engineering course that will finish on 2027, I'm planning to join there. And yes, they will be moving to airport Ikaros. I've spoken to the team there and by next year, they will be conducting operations from that airport only. Really excited to fly there

I've just looked up Ikaros, is the aerodrome called Stratiotiko? West of Patras?