International airline pilot?

[Guest WhiteIce89]

OK. First, let me introduce myself. I'm a high school senior in New York. My goal is to ultimately become an international airline pilot and I'm considering starting my flight training during or after college. I'm interested in the qualifications to fly internationally, for example between the US and Europe. Do you need the JAA AND FAA licenses? Or just FAA if you get all of your flight training here in the US? Oh, and if you do need the JAA licenses, then what country in Europe would you recommend training for said licenses? I've considered Poland since I used to live there and speak Polish fluently.

[Guest panda234]

An FAA license will allow you to fly in Europe, or anywhere in the world for that matter. And most flight schools teach in English as that's the international language of flying. Good luck!!billg

[Guest WhiteIce89]

Thanks :].And one more thing, once you've got your hours and your training, you're pretty much open to working for any airline around the world, not just the US, right? i.e. Some countries have pilot shortages, while others have a surplus.

[Guest panda234]

Yes, ICAO is the international regulatory body that sets the pilot licensing standards, and once you have a license from an ICAO signatory, which most countries in the world are, your license is recognized anywhere. While any license is recognized, some are considered better than others, and an American license is considered good. The big shortages are in East Asia (China and India). If you're a high hour Captain you can pretty much write your own ticket, but there is even a demand for First Officers, although they try to hire locally if possible. billg

[Guest CRJ700FO]

keep in mind a lot of these asian carriers will hire you for one reason, the fact that you speak english well and will be the ONLY one in the cockpit speaking english.if you stay in the us expect a long, hard road until you start international flying. if you goto one of these "academies" and spend $100,000 on your certificates then you will be in debt for a long time making a small amount of money.goto college. get a non aviation degree and fly during college. pace yourself such that you graduate with your CFI and can start instructing or whatever AFTER you get that degree. this way if you ever need to you can fall back on this degree.first things first. goto a local school and take an intro flight. get your 1st class medical and see if you can get one (it is no big deal, but for some it is). do these before you sign on the dotted line for these "academies".

[G7USL 117]

Prove your self by joining the USAF and the lessons will be free?Serve your time and jump straight into the right hand seat of ????This is what happens to a lot of RAF pilots.

[Cessnaflyer 56]

Great advice and the same route I am going through.

[Guest Mr Chips]

Not sure what you mean by "international", especially in context with the US. Long Haul (US, Europe and Asia) is difficult to get into as there are so many experienced pilots looking to transition, and anyway, most long haul carriers specify a minimum of 2000hrs ATP time. If you have residency rights in Hong Kong, then I have heard of low houred guys getting into Dragon Air and flying A340s, but even these guys have about 1500hrs of SEP instructing (Instructing = Macdonalds wages...if that!)As for licenses, you get the licence for the state of registration. If you have an FAA license then you can only flying N reg aircradt as P1 or P2. If you have a JAA license, then you fly appropriate aircraft registered in any JAA state. The transition from FAA to JAA can be painful and expensive with the need to do all the theory for the ATPL being the worst aspect. From what I can asscertain, the mil route is not as certain as once it may have been. Cirtainly multi-crew mil pilots seem to be preferred to fast jet pilots and there is a not inconsiderable amount of training to do to convert to the civil world. I don't know about the USAF, but in the UK RAF most mil qualifications are not recognised by the CAA. However, flying experience is credited to towards JAA training, but there is still much studying and money to be spent.Basically, airlines are looking for a demographic mix where possible, so the fact that you are a highly skilled herc pilot does not mean you meet the required profile for an airline, whereas a bright young thing with 250hrs might. However, the only pilot shortage now and for the forseeable future is for type rated pilots with 2000hrs JAR 25 aircraft (multi-crew, public transport jets and turboprops). Experienced Captains are gold dust at the moment! There are a multitude of guys fresh out of the sausage machine, many of which will never be airline pilots.The best chance of getting employment as a pilot seems to lie with the outsourced recruitment schemes where the student shoulders the risk, but that the risk is minimised through rigourous selection processes. The UK scheme that almost ensures you end up as a first officer if you make it to the end is this one: http://www.ctcaviation.com/index.html. You'll need to find an equivelent for the US if you go the FAA route.I couldn't possibly say where your best chances are - JAA vs FAA.

[Guest]

expect to be thankful to get a job paying 25k a year after 1-5 years of instructing just to get enough time to have regionals or small freight haulers look at your resume. expect to spend a few years there, up to 10, before you can become captain. If you want to risk it, you can go to an expensive flight training school, spend hundreds of thousands of dollars, just to be laughed at behind your back when people see it on your resume (sorry riddle but nobody believes your ego)basically the road is going to be tough, you wont be flying "long haul international" for a good 5-10 years after you jump in your first job. And who knows what will happen by then, aviation has already changed from a well paying career to a cut throat force pilots to fight each other for cheaper wages and longer hours jobs.Good luck, you will need it. It isnt glamourous like it use to be.