If you’re looking to pursue a life-long dream of becoming a professional airline pilot, then you’ll be faced with finding the right flight school to take you through to the right-hand seat of a commercial airliner. But with so many routes and schools across Europe, where do you start? Professional pilot training is a huge financial and personal commitment and the task of selecting a flight school that's right for you is the first important step to a successful career. It’s a choice that can be an overwhelming experience; there are many courses - even price differences - to compare. There are a few different routes to the flight deck, and your first decision is probably picking which type of commercial pilot training to undertake: Integrated (MPL or ATPL) or Modular. To each their own - the choice is really comes down to what works for you.We have a handy MPL vs ATPL guide which you can read here. Across Europe there are notable large Airline Training Organisations (ATO’s) that offer the complete all-inclusive, training packages, these courses can be very effective in getting you to through to your first pilot job in around two years - they also come with a premium price. In Europe these are: CAE, FTE Jerez and L3 Airline Academy. There has been a recent rise in dynamic, smaller ATOs across Europe with airline connections, looking to rival the “bigger players”. We’ve rounded up the best, just for you: Bristol Ground SchoolWhere: Somerset, UK What: ATPL Ground School Cost: From £2350 Who is it for? PPL holders, Beginners, Modular students Bristol Groundschool, is a long established distant-learning EASA ATPL theory specialist. Their courses are perfect for aspiring pilots looking to take a Modular route. People who follow a modular training often do so for a few reasons, financial flexibility, time commitment issues and career changes. www.bristol.gs Airways AviationWhere: Oxford, UK What: Integrated ATPL and modular Price: £89,980 for Integrated ATPL Who is it for? Beginners, Modular students This Pilot Training Academy is based at Oxford Airport and it’s EASA Integrated ATPL course is all delivered from its Oxford facilities, including its flight training on a fleet including Diamond DA40, DA42, Cessna 172, Piper PA-28 and Beech 76 Duchess. Although they currently don’t offer any official airline partnerships, Airways say career pathways for graduates are facilitated through partnerships with the airline industry. https://airwaysaviation.com Barcelona Flight SchoolWhere: Barcelona, Spain What: Integrated ATPL and Modular Price: On request Who is it for: Beginners, Modular students Training pilots for more than sixty years, Barcelona Flight School professes to be the best Aviation Academy in Spain having trained over 4000 pilots and say their high quality training is helps their students succeed in applying to airlines. They offer an Integrated Pilot Training Programme and flight training modules. Their ‘Modular Plus’ pathway is a more flexible Integrated ATPL offering that allows you to take a module whenever, provided you do it in the right order and without the need to commit to take all of them at once. This could for example allow you to work alongside your training. It boasts great weather for more flying, an international attitude for students of all nationalities and a great quality of life in Barcelona. While they don’t have any official partnerships, their success stories suggest that their graduates have been successful in securing FO jobs with Vueling, Volutea and Ryanair. https://barcelonaflightschool.com BAA TrainingWhere: Vilnius, Lithuania What: ATPL and Airline cadet programmes Price: On request for Integrated ATPL. The Wizz Air cadet programme costs from 62,000 Euro Who is it for: Beginners, Modular students Airline partners: Wizz Air, Smartlynx, Small Planet, Avion Express BAA Training is one of the bigger aviation training centres in Europe and although it has only been offering ab initio training for six years, it has already established four cadet programmes with Wizz Air, Smartlynx, Small Planet and Avion Express in addition to their Integrated ATPL and commercial flight training modules. In order to start the Integrated ATPL programme you have to pass an assessment consisting of Profile XT (personality assessment), Compass (aptitude assessment), English test and Structural interview. Living and training full time in Vilnius, you’ll be training for around 20 and 25 months where you will do complete all training including your flying - their training fleet is made up of 11 single-engine Tecnam, 4 Cessna 172 and 2 multi-engine Tecnam. https://baaflightschool.com OSM Aviation AcademyWhere: Norway, Sweden, USA What: Integrated ATPL ‘First Officer Programme’ and ‘Professional Pilot Programme’ Cost: Between 890 000 and 950,000 NOK/SEK (around £88,000) Who is it for? Beginners, Modular students Airline partners: Norwegian, SAS, BRA OSM Aviation offers integrated ATPL programmes known as the ‘First Officer Programme’ in Norway and Sweden - where all training is completed in one location and the Professional Pilot Programme which takes place in San Diego, USA AND Vasteras in Sweden. Both programmes take you from little or no flying experience to having all the licenses and ratings you need to work as a First Officer for European airlines in 20 months. All modular courses take place in Sweden. The Academy is part of OSM Aviation who provide contract pilots to airlines such as Norwegian, Finnair, Turkish Airlines and Thomas Cook and so when you start your flight training you will have a conditional job offer from OSM Aviation, meaning you could be come a contract pilot for any of the airlines that OSM provides crew for. https://www.osmaviationacademy.com Stockholm Flight AcademyWhere: Stockholm, Sweden What: Airline Transport Pilot- Program (ATP) - a modular route Cost: On request Who is it for? Beginners, modular students A relative newcomer, Stoflight started as a project in 2015 and the Academy officially became an EASA Approved Training Organisation in 2016 by the Swedish Civil Aviation Authorities.The majority of the flight training is conducted in Stockholm Västerås Airport and Stockholm Arlanda Airport. This Airline Transport Pilot- Program (ATP) takes you from zero experience to Pilot Ready and equips you with a PPL, CPL, IR, ME and MCC. Stoflight Academy provides all training in Sweden and boasts access to fantastic weather for flight training. The programme is technially modular - they believe that the modular method in a controlled environment combined with industry experience is the perfect match. Stoflight also work with several Scandinavian banks to offers student loans for training and claim they have a ‘money back guarantee’ if they don’t deliver your training as per your student contract. They claim students have landed jobs with many different airlines such as SAS, Norwegian, Ryanair, Flybe, Fly dubai and Emirates and say 88% of graduates have landed jobs within 12 months. https://www.stoflight.com/about/ Keilir Aviation Academy Where: Iceland What: Integrated Professional Pilot Programme Cost: Price: € 73.990 Who is it for? Beginners The Integrated Professional Pilot Program is designed for students with no or limited previous experience. They claim that 80% of all students from this program finds an airline job within the first year after graduation with airlines like Icelandair, Scandinavian Airlines, Norwegian or Ryanair. Keilir Aviation Academy has its own campus - around 40km from capital Reykjavik - where the majority of the international students live and in the vicinity of the campus you will find a gym, football field, swimming pools and other activities. The programme is approximately 20 months long. The flight training is composed of five phases with theoretical training taking place simultaneously, and in between, periods of flight training (on Diamond aircraft). The last part of your training will be completed in a Boeing full motion simulator. To study in Iceland, all foreign citizens (except Nordic) need a residence permit if staying longer than three months. http://www.aviationacademy.is/en/ Airline Pilot AcademyWhere: Bournemouth, UK and, Florida, USA What: Integrated ATPL Cost: £79,875 Who is it for? Beginners The Airline Pilot Academy (APA) is part of the Bournemouth Commercial Flight Training (BCFT) group of companies as is based at Bournemouth Airport. APA offers an integrated course which includes CPL, ATPL, ME IR and MCC which combines ground school courses and flying training delivered in accordance with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) requirements. Training takes place partially in the UK and partially in the USA and accomodation is provided throughout the course and included in the cost of training. In terms of airline partnerships, APA says they have a close association with Flybe. http://apacademy.aero/the-course/ Flying Time Aviation Where: Brighton, UK and Spain What: Integrated Flight Deck Programme Cost: £66,950 - £79,950 Who is it for? PPL holders, Beginners, Modular students FTA offers two integrated courses: a programme based entirely in the UK, and another version, where you will spend an initial three to five months flight training in Spain. The UK & Spain course could be a great option for the cost-concious cadet. It offers a £13,000 reduction on the UK based programme. Some flying is completed at FTA's satellite base in Teruel, Spain in a PA28. All other phases are completed at the academy's main base at Brighton City Airport in the UK. The UK integrated course is taking students with little or no flying experience to a 'Frozen ATPL'. All phases are completed from our base at Brighton City Airport, with 100% UK flying time. Former students have secured jobs with airlines that include Aer Arrann, Aer Lingus, Air Arabia, Air Baltic, Air Contractors, Air X, Arik Air, Atlas Global, Cathay Pacific, CityJet, easyJet, Estonian Air, Etihad, Flybe, Iberia, Iraqi Airways, Jet2, Lion Air, Loganair, Monarch, Nordic Air, Norwegian, Qatar Airways, Ryanair, Sriwijaya Air, Susi Air, Thomas Cook, Turkish Airlines, Wizz Air. Former students have also secured jobs in other pilot careers such as business jet companies and approved training organisations. http://www.fta-global.com/ Kura AviationWhere: Stratford-upon-Avon United Kingdom What: Training and placement services that bridge the gap between CPL+MEIR and Airline employment Price: Price on request Who is it for: Pilots who are about to start CPL IR, Pilots who are about to start MCC JOC and Pilots who are looking for their first job A relatively new training organisation, founded in 2014, Kura Aviation Community Interest Company bridges the gap between CPL+MEIR and Airline employment. The company was established by a group of experienced aviation professionals and working pilots to create new training and employment opportunities for aspiring pilots to access the profession. They have a seemingly impressive airline employment record, in just three years 148 BESTPILOT graduates have been offered First Officer positions with 31 different airlines (figures as of July 2018). www.kuraaviation.com So there you have it, a round up of some of the best alternative pilot training schools in Europe. Our top tips - be clear on what your training costs include - and what they don’t - to help you budget effectively, always check if there’s a refund guarantee if something doesn’t go to plan and finally but most importantly, check out their airline partnerships and what they can offer you for support in securing your first pilot job. Wherever you fly, log it with Aileron in your personalised Professional Pilot Logbook - from your first solo to your sim and beyond. Free downloads for Ground SchoolStart your pilot training in styleShop the full Aileron Range
7 Comments
Ahmad Shuqairat
11/18/2018 17:15:31
Hello,
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Malek
1/11/2019 15:44:51
Hi
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RJ
3/25/2019 14:00:47
Hi, have you looked at Stapleford Flight Centre? I would really like to hear what you think of them. Thanks.
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3/13/2020 23:15:31
Hello dear: I was just wondering if you heard of this group , would you recommend it to enrol with them . I'd be grateful if you could help me please.
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James
12/19/2021 20:44:51
I have heard good about a school named Quality Fly, in Madrid, which seems to have an rather interesting program and a competitive price.
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