To be eligible to fly airliners for a commercial airline, you will need to hold an ATPL (Airline Transport Pilot License). However, getting to this stage will take a considerate amount of commitment and funding, as pilot training can cost up to £90,000 plus.

To be considered for pilot training you will be required to have at least 5 GCSEs and 2 A Levels. Maths and physics are desirable subjects, as the training requires a good level of understanding in these.

There are a number of routes for training you can take which include the following: Integrated training – This is a full-time course which takes about 18 months to complete and is a mixture of classroom-based tuition and flying time in the cockpit. This is the most expensive route and will cost between £80,000 and £90,000 to undertake.

You can also take what they call Modular training which allows you to take the same course, but in smaller chunks, more of a pay as you go model. Although more affordable, the cost is still considerate and will also involve more studying at home, potentially this route could take longer depending on your personal circumstances, especially if you are working to fund the training. This route could also require you to already have a PPL (Private Pilot’s License) so please check with the course provider first.

In some circumstances you may be fortunate to receive partial or full sponsorship from an airline to fund your training. However, as you can imagine the competition for spaces would be fierce, so you would have to prepare comprehensively to be successful with this entrance. Also, the number of places depends on how well the industry is performing and how busy the airlines are. Based on the current climate and the downturn in international travel restrictions due to the pandemic, there would not be much scope currently. That being said as we start to move out of restrictions in large parts of the globe, we would expect more sponsorship opportunities to become available in the near future. It is certainly worth checking airline company websites for information on any opportunities and what their eligibility criteria is.

Before applying for any course, there is one thing you should most definitely consider. All commercial pilots will be required to pass a class one Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) medical. If you are unable to pass this medical, you will not be eligible for the ATPL, regardless on how well you do in the training.

Dependent on the route you could take up to two years and beyond to gain your ATPL. You would still need to apply for roles within a commercial online, which could take longer depending on available roles. If you are lucky enough to be sponsored by an airline, this could be a minimum of 18 months to become a qualified airline pilot.

There is no maximum age for becoming an airline pilot. However, please bear in mind that the mandatory retirement age for airline pilots is 65. This is enforced by the Civil Aviation Authority and must be adhered to. So, considering the cost and the length of the training, this should be a career you consider from your late twenties or thirties. Possibly, something you would not want to consider approaching your twilight years of your working life.

Becoming an airline pilot is very difficult, expensive and time consuming. As you can imagine the role of an airline pilot is a safety critical role, so you will have to undertake an extremely difficult and comprehensive training course to ensure that you are fully qualified to fly commercial airliners, responsible for the safety of the crew and passengers and the competence to take control of a multi-million-pound aircraft. Regardless of the difficulty, this is no reason to be put off. As once you have achieved your goal the benefits and salary are excellent. Also, having the opportunity to travel to different parts of the world and be paid for it at the same time, will be extremely appealing to many of us. 

The salary will largely depend on the organisation and the size of the aircraft you are flying. When starting you can expect a salary of around £30,000 pa. As your career progresses you can earn up to £50,000 as a first officer. Captains can earn considerably more, again depending on the size of the operator, for a large airline a Captain can earn £150,000 per annum.