You’re looking to turn your dream of flying into reality? With the pilot training at European Flight Academy, you have the possibility of joining a Lufthansa Group airline once you graduate.
The Lufthansa Group is one of the largest aviation groups and combines the long-standing carriers Lufthansa, Austrian and SWISS with newer airlines such as Eurowings, Edelweiss and Brussels Airlines as well as the regional carrier Air Dolomiti – with each airline offering its pilots unique opportunities.
Naturally, a pilot career means you will work outside of normal office hours – but that doesn’t mean you don’t have time for a private life and things that are important to you. You also have control over your duty plan, even on a short haul schedule.
In addition, some airlines also offer attractive part-time opportunities, allowing you to balance your life in the air and with your family.
On a short haul duty plan, you have several flights a day and might even return home in the evening, depending on your destinations. You have a certain level of control over your working hours and duties, having the ability to request certain routes and times. Many pilots strive to work in a long haul cockpit, but there are flight captains who appreciate the rhythm of a short haul career.
A long haul rhythm: you usually have one or two outbound and one return flight per week, spending a few days in the destination country in between – time to get to know cities and countries around the world.
Pilots never stop learning. This is not just due to advances in technology, but also to the progression of their careers. Your first type rating is usually for short- and medium-haul aircraft such as the Airbus A320. After a few years, you then learn to fly wide-body aircrafts, preparing for your move into a long-haul life.
You carry out your first commercial flights together with a captain specialized in training. Your training on commercial routes takes three months. After this time “line flying under supervision”, it’s time for your big moment: your check flight to become a First Officer (FO).
You are now a full-fledged member of the cockpit and a partner in the cockpit team. The captain and first officer make decisions together. They are both responsible for a safe, economic and punctual flight.
After approximately five years learning short haul types, you have the opportunity to switch to becoming an FO on a long haul aircraft. Only there can you progress to become a Senior First Officer (SFO). On the longest routes, he/she stands in for the captain during designated breaks.
The captain training is the logical next step. Whether this is for short or long haul is up to you – it all depends on what rhythm you prefer in your working life. And then it is finally yours: that left-hand seat in one of our cockpits and the fourth stripe on the sleeve of your uniform.
Even on the ground, exciting development opportunities await you: whether as check or training captains who train new pilots or evaluate them in simulator check flights twice a year, respectively. Or you move to a position that includes both pilot training and business acumen.
Heinrich Prinz, First Officer at Eurowings, tries to describe it nonetheless. He gives you a behind the scenes peek into the daily routines of our pilots.