Three student pilots walk towards a training aircraft parked in a hangar.

Theory and practice: your training details and schedule

Your way into the cockpit

The steps between start and license

This is how you become an airline transport pilot

The ordinary pilot license entitles you to fly large airplanes of all makes and models professionally and commercially, first as co-pilot and later also as captain.

The ATP license is subject to EASA standards and grants access to many cockpit jobs with well-known airlines.

Find out how, when, and where you learn the capabilities at the European Flight Academy that will soon enable you to take off as a professional pilot.

Training progression in Germany

The training steps at the European Flight Academy in Germany

Training progression in Switzerland

The training steps at the European Flight Academy in Switzerland

Details on the training progression

The phases of the training in detail

When will I take a seat in the cockpit for the first time? Where does my theoretical training take place? Which exams do I have to pass? Here you can find an overview of the information on the individual training phases.

Of course, before the flying comes the theory. You will acquire the theoretical basis in the first twelve months of the training at the locations in Bremen or Zurich: meteorology, air traffic laws, and navigation, along with a lot more. In order for it not to remain just vague theory, e-learning modules and self-studying are also part of the training. You will be able to continuously check your own learning progress. You will learn independently with the support of our experienced instructors.

The theory phase will be concluded with a theoretical exam conducted by the Luftfahrtbundesamt (LBA, German Federal Aviation Office) or by the Bundesamt für Zivilluftfahrt (BAZL, Swiss Federal Office of Civil Aviation); this exam represents an important milestone in your flight training.

Three people sit one behind the other at tables in front of laptops and solve tasks

Enter the cockpit after only twelve months: For successfully completing your theoretical training you will be rewarded with a seat in the cockpit of one of our training aircraft and a spectacular view over the desert landscape in Goodyear (USA).

These six months at our partner location of UAA (United Aviate Academy) will be full of moments you will never forget. This is where you will already learn how to start an airplane, how to navigate it, and how to land safely on unfamiliar airfields. Additionally, you will be trained in what to do in emergency situations and in the basics of the instrument flight.

If you attend EFA in Switzerland, you will receive your first flight training at our location in Grenchen before subsequently spending four months in Goodyear (USA).

Two people sit in the cockpit of a training aircraft and steer the aircraft over the Arizona desert

You are getting closer and closer to your goal! You will train complex situations in twin-engine aircraft and in simulators either in Rostock-Laage (Germany) or in Grenchen (Switzerland). All trainings will be logged and analyzed in a subsequent debriefing.

The practical exam for the commercial pilot license (CPL) with instrument rating (IR) and the multi-engine piston (MEP) class rating will mark the end of this three-month phase.

Two people sit in the cockpit of a training aircraft and fly.

MCC stands for multi-crew cooperation – you will be training skills like communication, leadership, decision-making, and teamwork between the pilot flying (PF) and the pilot monitoring (PM). Providing a realistic environment on the basis of a commercial aircraft, the complexity of the simulation will be increased continuously. In this way you will learn to master developing situations competently. After completion of this module you will be ready to prove your abilities with an airline.

The four-week MCC phase takes place in our Lufthansa Aviation Training centers in Frankfurt/Main, Berlin, or Zurich.

Following the MCC phase, you will be the holder of a “frozen” ATP license, with which you can obtain a TR (type rating) as the FO (First Officer), i. e. as the co-pilot, for the aircraft you will be operating. After 1,500 flying hours you can apply for an ATP license.

Two people sit in a flight training device and train.

Depending on airline demand, it might take some time for you to apply successfully for a place in the cockpit of an LHG airline or of an airline outside of Lufthansa Group. We will be by your side in this phase and will actively support you in placing you into cockpit jobs that become available with potential employers.

If a suitable cockpit job opens up, the possible future employer airline will conduct an interview or assessment with you after your application which, if successful, will end with recruitment. The airline will then usually assume the costs for the training modules regarding specific type rating and landing training.

Two people sit opposite each other and have a conversation.

You will receive your type rating – i. e. the training for a specific type of aircraft – in the corresponding three-month type rating training phase. Whether this is an Airbus A320, an Embraer 195, or another type of aircraft depends on which airline you are going to join. After the subsequent landing training you will be ready for deployment. Or: “Cleared for take-off”!

A Eurowings plane flies through the air.

We now wish you good luck in your dream job as a pilot! May this be the start of a successful career. You have acquired the ideal tools during your training at EFA.