A captain and a flight student are standing in front of an Airbus A350.

Europe's best airlines

YOUR WAY INTO THE COCKPIT

Various opportunities for your start

TAKE OFF AS A PILOT OF LUFTHANSA GROUP OR OF ANOTHER COMPANY

You would like to make your dream of flying a reality? Once you successfully completed your training at the European Flight Academy, you will be qualified to fly with a Lufthansa Group airline. To this end you will apply directly with the airline at the end of the training.

Lufthansa Group counts among the largest airline companies in the world and comprises the three flag carriers Lufthansa, Austrian, and SWISS with their rich traditions, young brands such as Eurowings, Eurowings Discover, Edelweiss, and Brussels Airlines, as well as the regional airlines CityLine and Air Dolomiti. Lufthansa Cargo is also part of this group of companies.

With the ATP license you obtained in your training you will have various opportunities with well-known European airlines outside of Lufthansa Group.

Your very own flight plan

The job of a pilot brings with it working hours that deviate from the standard nine-to-five working week – but that does not mean that you will have no private life to do the things that are important to you. On short-haul flights, for example, you will have control over your schedule.

Short-haul flights

SEVERAL FLIGHTS PER DAY

Exemplary flight plan for short-haul routes.

You will fly several short-haul flights a day and will be back home in the early or late evening, depending on air traffic and destination. Alternatively, you will be able to experience different countries and cultures throughout Europe on shorter flight cycles. You will have a certain degree of control over your deployment and off-time schedule: You can, for example, request certain flight routes and deployment times. While many pilots’ ultimate goal is flying long-haul flights, there are, however, pilots who prefer the rhythm of the short-haul flight.

Long-haul flights

ONE TO TWO FLIGHTS PER WEEK

Representation of the course of a typical flight plan for long-haul operations.

The rhythm of long-haul flights: You will complete one or two long-distance flights and one return flight per week; in-between these flights you will have one day or more of down-time at your destination – time you can use to get to know cities and countries.

In addition, some airlines offer attractive part-time arrangements in order to facilitate the reconciliation of family and the work life of a pilot.

Career steps and further training

ALWAYS ONE STEP AHEAD

Pilots never stop learning. This is not only because of technical developments but also par for the course in a pilot’s career. The first type rating (an authorization entered on or associated with a pilot licence and forming part thereof, stating his privileges or limitations pertaining to certain aircraft type) will be issued, as a general rule, for short-haul and medium-haul aircraft such as the Airbus A320. After a few years the training for a change-over to a wide-body type will take place, after which the pilots can start flying long-haul flights. This process depends on the airline you start with.

You will fly your first scheduled flights together with a training captain. The training in the context of scheduled flight operations will take three months. After completion of this Line Flying Under Supervision (LIFUS) comes the big moment: your check-flight to become First Officer (FO).

A captain and a second officer sit in a cockpit.

Now you take flight as a full-fledged member in the cockpit and you are a partner in the cockpit crew. Decisions are made by the Captain and the First Officer as a team, because as a team they are responsible for safe, economic, and punctual flight operations.

A first officer stands smiling in front of an Airbus A350.

After a few years of learning short haul types, you will depending on the airline also be eligible to transfer as FO to long-haul aircraft - if the airline is operating on long-haul. Only there will you be able to graduate to Senior First Officer (SFO). The SFO is the one to fill in for the Captain during the latter’s resting time on the longest flights.

A senior first officer stands in front of an Airbus A350.

As a last step you will tackle the Captain’s training. And then they will finally be yours: the left seat in a cockpit and the fourth stripe on the sleeve of your uniform.

A captain stands in front of an aircraft turbine.

There are exciting opportunities waiting for you on the ground, as well, including for further training and different assignments: As a training captain, for example, you train new pilots, and as a check captain you review your colleagues’ performance during the simulator check flights that take place every six months. Or you work in a position that requires both knowledge of flight operations and expertise in business administration.