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  • How to become an airline pilot?

How to become an airline pilot?

Make your passion your profession

Would you like to become an airline pilot?
Astonfly offers you this opportunity with or without previous flight experience
We have training courses adapted to help you achieve your dream job

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Seize this opportunity to become an airline pilot

With international flights starting up again, airlines are recruiting in great numbers and estimate their needs worldwide at over 31 000 new pilot hires per year until 2041

Source: Study carried out by Boeing Pilot Outlook 2022–2041

This unprecedented demand is explained by the natural growth of the world's air transport needs, but also by:

  • A great number of airline pilots worldwide leaving for retirement
  • The emergence of new airlines, mainly in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East,
  • The emergence of new markets such as the long-haul "low-cost" market,
  • The downturn in airline pilot training during the Covid-19 crisis, contributing to the current pilot shortage.

Sources: World Bank, ICAO, Ministry of the Economy and Finance, Les Echos

The permanent resilience of global air transport

«If one analyses more carefully the studies of global air transport since the 1970s, it is clear that crises have had little impact. Since the 1970s, world air transport has doubled on average every 15 years. Over the last 50 years, there have been what seemed to be insurmountable crises, and yet each time passengers wanted to continue travelling»

Read the full article written by Patrick Milward on the future of air transport in our News section.

Read the article
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What training do you need to become an airline pilot?

Astonfly provides two types of airline pilot training, full-time or on demand, depending on your profile. With these two courses, there are three opportunities: commercial pilot, business pilot and instructor.

ATP INTEGRATED

The Integrated ATP enables you to become an airline pilot through intensive and continuous training over 2 years on a full-time basis.
It consists of 9 months of theory followed by 15 months of practical training.

This course is accessible with a baccalaureate, from the age of 17, after having passed the Astonfly Integrated ATP admission assessment.

ATP MODULAR

The Modular ATP enables you to acquire, at your own pace, each of the qualifying modules you will need to be hired as a pilot in an airline company.

It is generally aimed at people who wish to train as an airline pilot in parallel with a school or salaried activity.

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Ryanair, exclusive partner of Astonfly in France

Europe's leading airline with over 300 aircraft, Ryanair is partnering with Astonfly to recruit and train its future airline pilots
through the Ryanair Mentored Programme of Integrated ATP and Modular ATP training.

98%

of Cadet pilot students under the Ryanair Mentored Programme
join the company directly after their type rating

Why become a Ryanair airline pilot?

Beginning your career as an airline pilot with the Ryanair group is a unique opportunity, offering you 6 major advantages:

  1. Job security with Europe's largest employer of pilots,
  2. Fast career progression to become a captain after only 3 years of experience,
  3. A wide choice of operational bases across Europe thanks to its extensive network,
  4. A stable flight schedule, without off-base nights, with guaranteed rest periods known 4 weeks in advance,
  5. Flying the latest generation of aircraft including the Boeing 737-8200,
  6. A higher average remuneration than that offered by competing companies.
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They have become pilots with Astonfly

Since its creation, Astonfly has trained more than 1,000 airline pilots,
currently working for over 50 airlines worldwide

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Lucas Herail, First Officer, Boeing 737

I did my airline pilot’s training with Astonfly. Thanks to this high-quality training, I have acquired the rigour and professionalism which are essential skills for carrying out this profession.

I benefited from an adapted infrastructure, a team of instructors competent and a very modern fleet. Also, I consider that Astonfly brings together all the training qualities necessary for success in this job. Therefore, I recommend this flight school.

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Antoine Martorana, First Officer, Embraer

Astonfly was my number one choice for my commercial pilot training after a background as an aeronautical engineer. The professionalism of the school, the experienced instructors and the modern fleet of aircraft prepared me from the start for the standards of my first employers. I started my career as a single pilot on the Diamond DA62, then I joined Ryanair with my training partner less than a year after leaving school, and now I'm First Officer on Embraer at Hop.

The high standards and demands of my Astonfly training ensured a smooth transition to my Boeing 737NG rating. I certainly approached my training seriously but I have always enjoyed flying at this great school.

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Anthony Bégé, First Officer, Airbus A330

After a few years spent as a navigator in the Air Force, I decided to retrain as a civilian pilot to put the military experience I had gained to profit. When looking for a school to take the CPL licence and ME IR rating, I rapidly chose Astonfly. Indeed the use of a modern fleet, the issuing of EASA qualifications and the location in the Paris region were decisive.

This gamble paid off since, following my training, I started working as an instructor and then rapidly as an airline pilot Officer in business aviation and now as a First Officer with Corsair.

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Hugo Marques Costa, First Officer, Boeing 737

"Do it well, or don't do it''. This is the motto of Astonfly. After my baccalaureate, I was eager to complete my professional training. I finished my integrated course at Astonfly in september 2020.

This school near Paris was growing rapidly with a quality service and a state-of-the-art fleet similar to airliners. It was also well known for its theoretical and practical teaching methods, which enabled me to meet the requirements of the companies as soon as I finished my training, such as safety, adaptability, etc.

Less than a year after finishing my training, I got a job as an airline pilot officer with Ryanair. Becoming a pilot requires rigour and method, stress management and also the ability to learn from failures. That describes the typical career of a private and commercial pilot. I enjoyed it and I met some great people.

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David Sitruk, First Officer, Falcon 7X

Professional and rigorous school with many instructors in brand new premises. Latest generation aircraft, clean and available thanks to an on-site mechanic’s workshop and an efficient ramp service.

I completed my integrated training in less than 18 months, then was hired immediately afterwards by a business aviation airline co which was my objective. It is a real pleasure to have been trained at this school. I highly recommend it.

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Solal Gabin-Novel, First Officer, Boeing 737

After completing my ATPL training at ASTONFLY, from 2018 to 2020, I secured an airline-entry standard thanks to high quality instruction and state-of-the-art aircrafts. Some of my happiest time was spent at the school, and I’m very grateful for all the people I met there.

Throughout the course, the various instructors who trained me and the teaching team provided me with all the skills necessary to pass the exams but also the selections.It was the quality of the training that allowed a smooth transition to the line training. I was also able to benefit from a school whose size produces an environment close to what you would find in a company and a modern fleet adapted to professional training.

I have kept excellent personal and professional memories of this training and I warmly thank my instructors Olivier C. and Laurent L. for their rigour and professionalism.

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Olivier Larignon, First Officer, Boeing 737

In 2018, I joined ASTONFLY's school for an integrated ATP training. After graduating, and in the midst of a pandemic, I continued on an FI training course where I was offered a position. This position was a very enriching experience for me both technically and on a human level.

The quality of the teaching staff and the meeting with brilliant instructors gave me the opportunity to reach my goal in a field I am passionate about.
The methods inculcated by this school: the taste for work and effort, the sense of perseverance allowed me to be prepared for the type rating as well as for online operations.
In addition, the contacts with the various airlines are numerous and offer a possibility of opening up to working life.

I can only highly recommend this school and thank the whole team who supported me in my work to get to the controls of a liner.

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Nicolas Jovanovic, First Officer, Boeing 737

As a former Astonfly student who followed an airline pilot’s training course, I was fortunate to have benefited from high-quality training, with a professionalism which met the requirements of the job, on a fleet of modern aircraft, with competent and demanding instructors.

Thanks to this quality training, I was lucky enough to pass my Boeing 737 qualification and then to be immediately selected by Air Baltic. I am currently pursuing my career with Norwegian Airline.

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Pauline Foubart, First Officer, Airbus A320

"I did my training at ASTONFLY from September 2018 to September 2020.
The theory was provided at Toussus Le Noble, I thank the theory instructors for their high quality teaching. This phase lasted a little less than 9 months.

Then came the practical part, I enjoyed my training. I also thank my two referent instructors for the CPL and IR (J.Gournet and PN.Guigard), thanks to them, I was ready for my practical exams. I was lucky to have as instructors, pilots in service, who were in various companies (AF, Ryanair, Flexjet etc.), and who taught me through flights and simulators the job of an airline pilot.

I started as a co-pilot at Astonjet, then captain on the Cessna Citation Mustang and now I'm joining AirFrance as a co-pilot on the Airbus 320. I am satisfied and happy with the theoretical and practical training I received at Astonfly.

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