Airline Pilot

Regional air carriers are on a well-documented pilot hiring binge, creating “one of the most exciting times ever” for aspiring airline pilots, says Captain LaMar Haugaard, director of pilot development, and chief pilot at Horizon Air. But recruiters remain selective, weighing candidates’ training backgrounds, flight experience, and even non-pilot qualifications, Haugaard says. Trainees should keep […]

“Being a CFI is a critical part for me to becoming an airline pilot,” says Sara Karg, a certified flight instructor at ATP Flight School. “I’ve learned so much and increased by leaps and bounds my confidence as a pilot and my proficiency.” In this video, Sara and other ATP CFIs offer insight into their […]

“To be successful in career training, you really need to have the mindset to be prepared every single day and to learn something new every single day,” ATP Flight School student Chris Hawthorne explains. Hearing about what ATP provides for its students from students themselves allows aspiring pilots to better understand what to expect when […]

My infatuation with Stearmans began at 7 years old, when, while piled into the back of our Oldsmobile Cutlass station wagon on a family road trip to Florida, I spied a barnstormer in a brilliant blue-and-yellow airplane plying his trade from a nearby airstrip. I pleaded for my parents to let me take a ride, […]

Seniority. It’s the rank among peers “that rules an airline pilot’s life,” says Paul Templeton, a pilot employment expert and retired airline captain. “Seniority determines almost everything you do — what crew base you’re assigned to, what equipment you’ll fly, and your monthly schedule.” Templeton, creator of the PilotJobs.com blog and a director at airline […]

An old TWA captain once told me that the definition of a successful aviation career is when the chief pilot meets your retirement flight and wonders aloud, “Who the heck are you?” There’s some good advice buried in that witticism, and I’ve tried to live by it over the course of my career. I had […]

Airline pilots, while maneuvering their aircraft, also navigate individual and unique career pathways. At AirlinePilot.life, the online forum’s creator, Chris Carey, and fellow airline pilot mentors get many questions from aspiring professional pilots and trainees about charting this flight plan. How do new hires go from reserve duty to flying a wide-body airliner on international […]

Over the next two decades air carriers in North America will need 8,640 new airliners, according to a study Boeing released this summer, but the company’s research and other industry data indicate there won’t be enough pilots to operate them. “Historically the Boeing report has been incredibly spot on,” says Paul Templeton of PilotJobs.com, which […]

Airline pilots take various routes to the cockpit of their aircraft, but many experts agree the fastest and surest is through a full-time program focused on training pilots for airline careers. To be sure, getting the required ratings and flight experience may be expensive, but the real costs to consider, according to these experts, are […]

Global air travel trends and a wave of coming retirements are fueling an unprecedented demand for airline pilots that is already being felt. Regional carriers including Republic Airways, Cape Air and Horizon Air have had to cancel flights and cutback their schedules due to a shortage of pilots, and forecasts indicate the trend will accelerate. […]