Airline selection

Airline pilot interview: what to expect and how to prepare

Most airlines select pilots in stages: an application, aptitude tests, one or more interviews and a simulator assessment. Each stage is looking for something different. This guide walks through them from the assessor's side, so you know what is being asked and why.

By Matthew Dowell, airline training captain and examiner. Written in a personal capacity; it is not connected to any airline. Airlines differ, so always follow the instructions your own airline sends you.

The stages, in the order you will usually meet them

1. The application. Your CV, licences, hours and a short written answer or two. Mistakes here cost you before anyone has met you.
2. Aptitude tests. Computer-based tests of numerical reasoning, spatial awareness, memory, coordination and multitasking, often with an English-language check.
3. The technical interview. Aviation knowledge: your licence theory, the aircraft type or category you fly, regulations and operational judgement.
4. The competency (or HR) interview. Questions about what you have done: working with others, handling pressure, making decisions, learning from errors.
5. The simulator assessment. A short, structured exercise, usually flown with an assessor or another candidate.
6. Sometimes a group exercise or a final interview. Not every airline uses every stage, and the order varies.

The application: do the dull things properly

Check every date, hour total and licence number against your logbook and documents. Make sure the CV says plainly what you have flown and when. Answer the actual question in any written section, in your own words, and keep it short. Assessors read a lot of applications; clear and accurate stands out more than clever.

Aptitude tests

These are practised skills. Doing sample tests of the same type beforehand makes the format familiar and takes the edge off nerves. On the day, work steadily and accurately, and do not let one difficult question eat your time. The tests are designed so that few people finish everything; that is normal.

The technical interview

The aim is to see that your knowledge is sound and that you can reason from it. Revise the subjects behind your licence, and know your own aircraft's systems and limitations well enough to explain them simply. If you do not know something, say so, then explain how you would work it out or where you would check. Bluffing is the quickest way to lose an assessor's confidence. There are example technical questions for each ATPL subject, and the Mastering ATPL study guides cover the theory behind them.

The competency interview

These are the "tell me about a time when..." questions. Prepare six or seven real stories from your flying and your life outside it, then choose the one that fits the question. A simple structure keeps you on track:

• Situation: set the scene in a sentence or two.
• Task: what you were responsible for.
• Action: what you did and why. Say "I", not "we".
• Result: what happened, and what you would do differently or learned.

Questions you should expect in some form:

• Tell me about yourself and why you want to fly for this airline.
• Describe a time you made a mistake and what you did about it.
• Describe a disagreement with a colleague or a captain and how it was resolved.
• Tell me about a time you had to make a decision with incomplete information.
• Give an example of working under pressure or to a deadline.
• When have you helped a less experienced colleague?
• What would you do if you saw a crewmember about to make a serious error?
• What do you do when you disagree with a procedure?

The assessor is listening for honesty, self-awareness and how you treat other people, much more than for a dramatic story. For more questions grouped by type, with what each one is looking for, see airline pilot interview questions: what assessors look for.

The simulator assessment

Assessors are not looking for perfect flying. They are watching how you manage the task: how clearly you communicate, how you share and prioritise workload, how you make decisions, how you work with the other person, and what you do when something goes wrong. Talk through what you are doing, ask for help when you should, and recover calmly from slips. A tidy recovery shows more than a flawless sector. If you want a picture of what is observed, the ICAO competencies are the framework most airlines build on.

The day itself

• Arrive early, and have your licences, medical, passport and logbook ready in the order they may be asked for.
• Dress as you would for an operational day, neat and plain.
• Be the same person at every stage. Candidates are watched between sessions as well as in them, and you will be working alongside the other candidates.
• Treat the receptionist, the other candidates and the assessors with the same courtesy.
• If a stage goes badly, move on. Each stage is usually assessed separately, and the next one is a fresh start.

A simple preparation plan

1. Read the airline's recruitment page and any email carefully, and do exactly what it says.
2. Check the application against your documents.
3. Practise sample aptitude tests of the type named.
4. Refresh your technical knowledge, starting with the aircraft or category you fly now.
5. Write down your six or seven stories and practise saying them aloud.
6. Rehearse the simulator habit of talking through what you are doing, in your own flying if you can.

What is inside The Airline Pilot Interview

35 chapters in seven parts, from how selection works to what to do if it goes wrong. It is written from the assessor's side of the table.

Part One: How Selection Actually Works

• 1. What an airline is actually buying
• 2. Why selection went competency-based
• 3. The stages, and what each one is for
• 4. Two routes, and why the process feels different
• 5. How to read the job before you apply
• 6. Why good pilots fail

Part Two: The Application, and Getting in the Room

• 7. What an invitation costs, and what it means
• 8. Who you know, and why it works
• 9. The CV that survives the first cut
• 10. The covering letter, and the question behind "why us"
• 11. Online tests, and what cannot be crammed
• 12. Video and one-way interviews

Part Three: The Technical Interview

• 13. What technical questions are really testing
• 14. Principles of flight, reasoned rather than recalled
• 15. Aircraft systems, known and unknown
• 16. "I don't know," done properly
• 17. A worked example, and how to read it
• 18. A bank of worked technical questions

Part Four: The HR and Competency Interview

• 19. What HR questions actually measure
• 20. Structure without sounding like a robot
• 21. Building your evidence bank
• 22. The pilots airlines are trained to spot
• 23. The competency questions, one by one
• 24. Worked answers: the questions everyone gets
• 25. Talking about failure and error

Part Five: The Simulator Assessment

• 26. What the sim assessment is actually for
• 27. What they are actually watching
• 28. Preparing for the sim without an aircraft
• 29. Flying with an assessor beside you
• 30. The sim debrief, and being coachable in real time

Part Six: The Group Exercise, and the Day Itself

• 31. Group exercises, and what they reveal
• 32. The day itself

Part Seven: If It Goes Wrong

• 33. Reading a rejection
• 34. The honest self-assessment
• 35. Reapplying, and holding your nerve

Frequently asked questions

How do you dress for a pilot interview?

Dress as you would for an operational day, neat and plain, and follow any dress instructions the airline sends you.

What are the most common airline pilot interview questions?

They fall into four groups: questions about you and the airline, competency ("tell me about a time when...") questions, technical questions on your licence theory and aircraft, and scenario questions. See the airline pilot interview questions page for examples and what each one is looking for.

How long does the airline pilot selection process take?

It varies by airline. Some run everything in one day; others spread aptitude tests, interviews and the simulator over several stages weeks apart. The airline's own recruitment page will tell you its format.

Do I need to know the answers to technical questions word for word?

No. Technical questions check that you understand the subject well enough to reason from it. A clear, honest answer that shows how you think is stronger than a memorised paragraph, and saying you are not sure, then reasoning to a sensible answer, is better than bluffing.

What are airline assessors looking for in the simulator?

They are usually watching how you manage the task rather than whether the flying is perfect: communication, workload, decisions, teamwork and how you recover when something goes wrong. The ICAO competencies are a good picture of what is observed.

Should I talk about my mistakes in a competency interview?

Yes, if the question asks for one. A real error described honestly, with what you changed afterwards, shows the learning that assessors want to see. Do not choose an example where nothing really went wrong.

Is the book a substitute for the airline's own preparation material?

No. Always follow the instructions your airline sends you. The book explains the common shape of the process and the thinking behind it.