Hi there,First post here. Let me explain my situation gang. I'm Maltese (living in Malta) and have had a dream to become a pilot since the age of ten. Due to some personal issues I didn't have the cash to do my PPL, NR, Multi, frosen ATPL in the past. Now I have the cash I have run into another problem - AGE. I'm 31 (december 10th) and I have been told locally that I'm too old to become an airline pilot i.e. start training now. Can any realworld pilots out there shine a light on this? Do I just give up or is it worth a shot? Any replies would be of great help as I don't know what to do. It seems that some airlines would rather judge a person by their age rather than flying ability.Regards320Mad

Not an airline pilot but will jump in here with just a few items while you wait for better :-)They may be including the time it will take you to get your PPL AND the number of hours needed to even apply for a job with an airline..At your age it does seem like you could still have a 20 year career after you got in...BUT there may be many more twists and turns to the subject yet to be posted.Some info I've saved in the past: (this is USA and not sure about your country)According to the ALPA, http://www.alpa.org/ most airlines require at least 1,500 flight hours in multi-engine aircraft. Newly hired Pilots for regional airlines average over 2,000 hours. The average multi-engine flight hours for new hires at major airlines is 4,000.

31 is not too old! What is more important than age is determination and a refusal to give in.I have a friend who made a career change from the Police force. He is 35 years old and got his frozen ATPL.He instructed but only had 100 multi engine times.He applied to many airlines with very little response and this was a year ago when recruitment was bleak.He decided to finance his own 737 type rating by selling his home.Halfway through the type rating he had a number of offers and is now flying 767 s for DHL cargo.Recruitment is on the up so now is a good time to push ahead.Ok you may have been better at 24 but 31 isnt that old and I have ven known people at 40 go for it.Another over 40 is now flying 747 Cargo.If you wait for things to happen they wont. You have to be really targetted very determined and network like mad.If you do that you WILL succeed as long as your personality, flying skills and medicals are in order.Good luckPeter

Hi.Your age should not be a problem. What Peter and Tom said, apply and in addition, in US at least, you can choose the right FBOs / schools, specially if the money is no object, that are affiliated with Commercial airlines, and they will get you from zero to ATP with a job almost guaranteed, if you can cut it. Good luck. TV

I don't know how it is in malta, but in the US, they have a mandatory retirement at 60. Some airlines will refuse to hire you past your late 20s because they feel they won't get enough labor out of you to be worth the cost of training and your retirement pention. My math teacher quit his airline job (because of several conditions he couldn't live with) to look for a better one at age 28 and found they wouldn't hire him at any of the airlines he applied to. Fortunately in the US. It's looking like most of the airline pilots are getting close to retirement so there will be a gap they need to fill. Though they may only bring back furloughed pilots. Who knows. The airline industry is a roller coaster.All that said. I'd say go for it. You'll never know if you could have unless you tried. I'm working towards my commercial but I feel I most likely will go into air charter or some other bush flying service back in my homestate of Alaska.----------------------------------------------------------------John S. MorganReal World: KGEG, UND Aerospace Spokane Satillite, Private 130+ hrs.Virtual: MSFS 2004"There is a feeling about an airport that no other piece of ground can have. No matter what the name of the country on whose land it lies, an airport is a place you can see and touch that leads to a reality that can only be thought and felt." - The Bridge Across Forever: A Love Story by Richard Bach

>I'm working towards my commercial but I feel I most likely will go into air charter or some other bush flying service back in my homestate of Alaska.

Yeah. I used to want to fly for the airlines, then I learned that you don't actually fly for the airlines, you program for them. :-lol----------------------------------------------------------------John S. MorganReal World: KGEG, UND Aerospace Spokane Satillite, Private 130+ hrs.Virtual: MSFS 2004"There is a feeling about an airport that no other piece of ground can have. No matter what the name of the country on whose land it lies, an airport is a place you can see and touch that leads to a reality that can only be thought and felt." - The Bridge Across Forever: A Love Story by Richard Bach

>He decided to finance his own 737 type rating by selling his>home.Well, that's determination! But it sounds a little risky...-