Your career as an American Airlines pilot begins at ATP Flight School. Partnering with Envoy Air, ATP offers the Cadet Program, which is the best and fastest way to fly for American Eagle and American Airlines.
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At ATP, below are the steps to become a American Airlines pilot.
Enroll in ATP Flight School's Airline Career Pilot Program and earn an FAA commercial multi-engine pilot certificate and instrument rating.
Build experience as an ATP flight instructor and interview with Envoy Air for participation in their Pilot Cadet Program, becoming an Envoy employee.
Fly as regional first officer for Envoy.
Transition to American Airlines with no additional interview required.
Need help on how to get started on becoming a pilot with American Airlines? Request More Information »
Your path to becoming an American Airlines pilot starts at ATP Flight School. Here's how to go from zero experience to becoming a American Airlines First Officer.
Starting with zero experience, you must first earn an FAA commercial multi-engine pilot certificate and instrument rating. The Airline Career Pilot Program is the most efficient and proven way to earn the certification you need to become an airline pilot, at a fixed cost, taking just nine months to complete.
Earn 1,500 hours of flight experience as an instructor with ATP.
When you're a flight instructor, interview with Envoy Air for participation in the Pilot Cadet Program. This will be your first and last interview; no future interviews are required by Envoy Air or American Airlines.
Participating in the Cadet Program as an instructor makes you an Envoy Air employee, allowing you to enjoy health and travel benefits from the airline while you gain experience. Once you reach 500 hours of flight time, you will also begin earning financial assistance.
Once you reach 1,500 hours of flight time, complete the ATP CTP course sponsored by Envoy. Once finished, you’ll be placed into the next available new hire class at Envoy Air and begin flying as an American Eagle regional airline first officer.
After approximately two years flying as first officer, upgrade to captain with Envoy Air.
Next, you will have the opportunity to become a pilot with American Airlines. An agreement between Envoy Air and American Airlines allows you to flow-through to the major airline in just over five years, with no additional interview required.
Learn more about enrolling in the Cadet Program & becoming an American Airlines pilot.
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Download your complete guide on how to become a pilot. Learn more about requirements, pay, seniority, steps, and more.
Download your complete guide on how to gain the competitive edge and become an airline pilot through ATP's Airline Career Pilot Program.
An important first step in becoming an airline pilot is researching your financing options. It's quick and easy to apply and you'll receive a credit result in about 15 minutes. There's no obligation to accept the loan or begin flight training with ATP once you've been approved.
Download your complete guide on how to become a pilot. Learn more about requirements, pay, seniority, steps, and more.
Download your complete guide on how to gain the competitive edge and become an airline pilot through ATP's Airline Career Pilot Program.
AirlinePilot.life is an online community, where current airline pilots share their insight on the career and life as a professional pilot. They are here to help answer your questions as you embark on this exciting career!
As an ATP student, you'll have access to a mobile-optimized web app from which you can view lesson plans, online scheduling, and a comprehensive collection of online modules. Sample this resource by getting started with a free module now.
An Admissions Flight with ATP is an excellent opportunity for you to get a first-hand look at training with ATP. The best part is that you can get started with a free online lesson right now.
Required prerequisites and minimum qualifications for enrollment in the Envoy Cadet Program's path to becoming a pilot for American Airlines:
As an Airline Career Pilot Program graduate, you will meet the certification requirements in just nine months starting with zero experience. With a flight instructor job, you can meet the airline minimum hiring requirements of 1,500 hours of flight time in two years.
Here are the minimum hiring qualifications and requirements to become an American Airlines pilot:
While these are just the basic hiring qualifications, the Envoy Cadet Program through ATP gives you the competitive edge, with the most efficient path to a pilot career at American Airlines.
ATP Flight School has the highest ratio of airline placements to students of any other college, university, or pilot cadet academy, and has placed over 500 pilots with American Eagle (Envoy Air).
