How many flight hours do you need to become an airline pilot?
You need 1,500 flight hours to qualify for an Airline Transport Pilot certificate, which is required to fly for an airline. You build those hours after earning your private, instrument, commercial, and instructor certificates.
The private certificate is the starting point, not the finish line.
After earning your private, instrument, and commercial certificates, most pilots become flight instructors and build the remaining hours toward the 1,500-hour ATP minimum, which usually takes 18 to 24 months of paid instructing.
A structured program like Zero Time to Airline takes you from zero experience through every certificate and rating you need to start building those hours.
Related Questions
Thinking About Flying as a Career?
The private pilot certificate is the first step toward the flight deck. But if you’re thinking about a career as a pilot you’ll need more then that. Zero Time to Airline is a structured program that takes you from no experience all the way to airline-qualified, with every certificate and rating along the way.