Condor Pilot Interview Prep: Stages, Sim, Questions (2026 Guide)

Last updated: 17 October 2026

Condor, the German leisure airline, has flown only Airbus aircraft since November 2025: the A320 family and the A330-900neo. At the last check, on 17 October 2026, its application portal listed four First Officer postings, for the A32X with and without an A320 type rating and for the A330, and its cadet program, with applications open until 16 November 2026. Condor runs its cadet selection with interpersonal, a pilot selection company in Hamburg: a cadet must pass interpersonal’s aptitude test, the Basic Qualification, before applying, and then the Corporate Qualification. Its First Officer postings ask for German and English, both at Level 4, and the one for pilots without an A320 type rating sets no hours minimum and recognizes interpersonal’s Basic Qualification certificates. This guide sets out what each posting asks for and how to prepare for each stage.

Note for non-rated pilots: two of the four postings take pilots without a type rating, one on the A32X and one on the A330, so a missing rating does not rule you out; on the A32X, though, candidates with a valid A320 rating are given priority in the selection. The material we found did not say who pays for the rating or whether it is bonded, so ask before you commit.

At the last check, on 17 October 2026, Condor’s application portal (career.aero/condor) listed First Officer postings for the A32X, type-rated and not, and for the A330, non-type-rated and for pilots with Airbus wide-body experience, and its cadet program (CAP), taking applications until 16 November 2026 for the course starting in June 2027. Condor’s careers page says it regularly looks for First Officers and Captains, but we found no Captain posting. Check the airline pilot jobs board for the current position.

About Condor

Condor flew its last Boeing 757 in November 2025 and now flies only Airbus aircraft (AirlineGeeks and ch-aviation, November 2025): the A320 family, older A320s and A321s beside new A320neos and A321neos, and the A330-900neo. The A318, A319, A320 and A321, ceo and neo, share one type rating, with differences training between the models (the Library explains class and type ratings), so one rating covers every A32X Condor flies. The A330 postings are a stream of their own.

Where you would be based depends on the posting: the type-rated A32X posting offers Frankfurt, Düsseldorf, Munich and Hamburg, by availability, and the A330 postings, as search results show them, Frankfurt. For pilots with no flying experience, the Condor Ab Initio Program (CAP) trains cadets to an MPL with the A320 type rating at TFC Flight Training in Essen, in about 24 months, and the cadet pays a share of the training cost. The portal’s FAQ, written for the 2024 course, says cadets are no longer bonded to the airline and that a contract is offered as needed rather than promised.

Which posting fits you

The A32X postings ask for an EASA ATPL, a CPL(IR) with ATPL theory, or an MPL; fluent German and English, written and spoken, at Level 4; and a school-leaving qualification at university entrance level (the German Hochschulreife or Fachhochschulreife). As search results show them, the First Officer postings also ask for an EASA Class 1 with a negative drug test, corrective vision within ±3 diopters and unrestricted eligibility to work and live in Germany, with a valid passport, and the non-rated postings give a height range of 1.58 to 1.98 m. The cadet program asks for a school-leaving qualification at university entrance level, fluent German and English, a German residence and work permit with an unrestricted passport, and corrective vision within ±3 diopters.

The A330 figure is an either-or. Time on any Airbus from the A320 to the A380 counts toward the 1,000 hours whatever the aircraft weighs; the 1,500 hours must be on multi-crew jets above 20 tonnes, so time on turboprops, single-pilot aircraft or lighter jets counts toward neither. Total your logbook both ways before you apply, and show the figures that way in your application (the Library’s guide to the pilot CV and application covers the flight hours table).

What sets Condor apart for a pilot

• German as well as English. Level 4 in both, and the portal and its postings are in German only, although Condor says the application itself can be made in English.
• A selection run by a specialist. interpersonal in Hamburg tests every cadet before the application, and the A32X posting for pilots without a type rating recognizes its certificate.
• Rated and non-rated, on both fleets. Two of the four First Officer postings take pilots without a type rating, one on each fleet, and the A32X one sets no hours minimum, though pilots with a valid A320 rating are given priority.
• An eyesight limit of its own. Corrective vision within ±3 diopters, on top of the Class 1.
• The right to live and work in Germany. Unrestricted eligibility is a condition, so a pilot who would need a permit does not meet it as written.
• A cadet route the cadet helps pay for. CAP cadets pay a share of the training cost, in installments according to the portal’s FAQ for the 2024 course, which also says there is no longer a bond to the airline.

The published stages

Condor publishes its cadet selection in full, in the CAP posting and the portal’s FAQ, written for the 2024 course. For First Officers it publishes one part of it: the A32X posting for pilots without a type rating recognizes interpersonal’s aptitude certificate, the Basic Qualification, and gives priority in the selection to pilots with a valid A320 rating. The table below gives each stage as Condor describes it, and what to prepare.

Two things follow from the order. The Basic Qualification comes before anyone at Condor reads your file, so it can end a cadet’s application before it starts. And for First Officers, Condor publishes nothing after the application beyond recognizing the Basic Qualification: interpersonal describes its Ready Entry certificate as leading, once passed, to the next selection level, usually a screening in a full flight simulator or a flight and navigation procedures trainer (FNPT), and a preparation provider describes a psychological stage after that, with an interview and group work (Easy Flight Training, 2026). Prepare for all three until your invitation tells you the format.

The Basic Qualification

interpersonal describes the Ready Entry version, for holders of a CPL/IR or higher, as a day of tests in Hamburg: aviation knowledge, English, mathematics, logical reasoning, spatial orientation, concentration, memory and multitasking, with a personality questionnaire; the certificate is currently valid for 24 months (interpersonal’s Basic Qualification pages, as search results showed them on 17 October 2026). According to the portal’s FAQ, the Ab-Initio version that cadets need tests cognitive ability and psychomotor skills, the latter with the MOZARD test, and a certificate from the DLR, the German Aerospace Center, does not count instead. Practice the skills rather than one product: daily mental arithmetic without a calculator, reading instruments against the clock and short multitasking sessions over a few weeks (the Library covers pilot aptitude tests). interpersonal’s pages differ on how soon a failed test can be retaken, so check before you book, and sit it prepared.

The Corporate Qualification

The portal’s FAQ describes the Corporate Qualification as the second and last stage of the cadet selection, which tests personal suitability, and the CAP posting puts it in February 2027 for the June 2027 course. A preparation provider describes it as a psychological assessment, usually held at interpersonal in Hamburg, with an interview, a group exercise and discussion, and a reflection on your own performance (Easy Flight Training, 2026). Prepare for the interview and the group exercise as below.

The simulator screening

Condor publishes no simulator profile, device or duration. interpersonal says that a Ready Entry candidate who passes the Basic Qualification usually moves on to a screening in a full flight simulator or a flight and navigation procedures trainer (FNPT), and a preparation provider, AET Aviation, writes that such screenings are typically flown on the DA42, the 737 or the A320 (read 17 October 2026). It may be a type you have never flown, so prepare for the shape most airline simulator assessments share: in the Library’s description of the airline simulator assessment, 30 to 60 minutes, flown as one of a two-pilot crew, with a briefing on the numbers to fly, then upper air work, a hold, an ILS to minimums with a missed approach and sometimes an engine failure.

What to practice

• The briefing. The pitch attitudes and thrust settings given there are the numbers to fly, so write them down, and ask about anything unclear before you start.
• Raw data. Practice level-offs, steep turns and hand-flown ILS approaches without the flight director, with the scan centered on the attitude indicator (see instrument scan technique).
• Airbus handling, if the device is an A320. In normal law the aircraft trims itself, and in turns up to 33° of bank it needs no back pressure and holds its bank with the stick released; beyond 33° it rolls back toward 33° if released, so a steep turn needs both lateral and aft pressure (see A320 flight control laws and protections).
• Both roles. Where the screening is flown as a crew, the pilot monitoring is assessed too: standard callouts, checklists and calling deviations (see crew coordination, briefings and callouts).
• The engine failure after V1. Directional control with rudder, rotation at VR and not before, positive climb and gear up, then identification and confirmation with the other pilot before anything is shut down (see engine failure and engine fire).

In the Library’s description, for low-hour pilots the session is largely a test of trainability, of how quickly an unfamiliar aircraft’s numbers are applied, while for experienced pilots the emphasis typically moves toward managing the flight and the crew. Errors are expected; what counts is whether they are noticed, said aloud and corrected.

The interview and the Corporate Qualification

Condor does not describe its interview format, so prepare for the forms most airlines use. Expect competency questions, which ask for a real past event rather than an opinion: a mistake you made, a disagreement with a Captain, a time you saw something unsafe, a decision on incomplete information. Answer with the STAR structure (situation, task, action, result), keep each story short and true, and show ownership rather than blame. Prepare eight to ten stories that cover the common themes, and raise anything in your record yourself, such as a failed check: an interviewer who finds it later will assume it was hidden. The Library sets out the method in competency-based pilot interviews.

Questions particular to Condor

• Why Condor? Three specific reasons that are true for both sides, such as the leisure network, the Airbus fleet or the posting that fits your experience. Not led by pay, and never a criticism of your present employer.
• Which posting, and why? The A32X or the A330, rated or not: know why your hours and your license fit the one you applied for.
• Why should we train you? For a non-rated applicant: evidence that you learn a new type quickly, and a plan to stay and use it.
• In German and in English. Both are required at Level 4, so be ready to answer in either, and rehearse your technical answers in both.
• Your training record. Have your license, your MCC certificate and your upset prevention and recovery training (UPRT) record to hand; the non-rated A32X posting asks for Advanced UPRT training.
• For cadets. Why this career, why Condor’s program rather than another, and how you will fund your share of the training.

The group exercise

If your stage includes one, as preparation providers describe for the Corporate Qualification, it puts several candidates around a planning or prioritization task against the clock, while assessors watch how each one contributes, listens and helps the group reach a decision, not who reaches the answer. Dominating the discussion and staying silent both leave them without evidence. Make sure everyone understands the task, make your point once with a reason, build on other people’s ideas, bring a quieter member in, keep an eye on the time, and support the decision once it is made.

Technical questions

A technical interview generally covers three things: the type you fly or will fly, ATPL theory asked as open questions, and operational scenarios you talk through. Start from the fleet of your posting, the A32X or the A330. A cadet, or a non-rated pilot with little airline time, should make ATPL theory the core of the preparation. If you do not know an answer, say so, then explain what you do know and where you would find the rest: panels generally score honesty first, then reasoning, then raw knowledge.

A320 questions to practice

1. Normal, alternate and direct law: what takes you from one to the next, and which protections do you lose at each step? (see A320 flight control laws and protections)
2. What is alpha floor, and when is it not available? (see fly-by-wire and flight envelope protection)
3. The A320 family shares one type rating: what changes for the crew between the ceo and the neo, and between the A320 and the A321? (see the A320ceo to neo course and its module comparing the A319, A320 and A321)

A330neo questions to practice

v1prep has no A330 bank. The Airbus principles the A330 shares with the A320 family are covered: fly-by-wire, the control laws and hard envelope protection (see fly-by-wire). For the long-haul side:

1. Extended diversion time operations for twin-engined airplanes: the threshold time, the entry point and critical fuel (see ETOPS)
2. A North Atlantic crossing: how is the oceanic clearance given, and what is the Mach number technique? (see oceanic and North Atlantic operations)

ATPL topics worth refreshing

1. Upset prevention and recovery: a nose-high and a nose-low upset, and what “push to unload” means (see upset prevention and recovery)
2. V1, VR and V2, and what V1 commits you to (see takeoff speeds)
3. The go-around: thrust, attitude, flap and gear, and who may call it (see go-around and missed approach)
4. Decode a METAR and TAF (drill it with our ATPL meteorology questions)
5. Airspace classes and the rules of the air (see our ATPL air law questions)

What v1prep has for Condor’s fleet

Where Condor candidates go wrong

1. English only. German at Level 4 is required as well, and the portal and its postings are in German.
2. Arriving cold at the Basic Qualification. It comes first, before anyone at Condor reads your file, so a weak result ends a cadet application before it starts.
3. The wrong posting for your hours. The non-rated A330 posting counts Airbus time, or multi-crew jet time above 20 tonnes, not total time.
4. An eyesight check left to the medical. Corrective vision must be within ±3 diopters; check your prescription before you apply.
5. No unrestricted right to live and work in Germany. It is a published condition, so a pilot who would need a permit does not meet it as written.
6. A silent simulator session. Accurate flying without briefing, calling and monitoring is weak crew performance.
7. Dominating, or disappearing, in the group exercise. Assessors watch how you contribute, listen and help the group decide; both extremes fail that test.
8. Stories and records that do not match. Competency answers that do not survive a follow-up question, or figures that differ from your logbook. Across the industry, the commonest reason an offer is withdrawn is a gap between what a candidate declared and what the records show.

From application to a course date

Condor publishes dates for its cadet course, not for First Officers. What is known:

Plan for a range, not a date. If you will need the Basic Qualification, book it early, since a cadet cannot apply without it, and keep your theory sharp while you wait.

Condor pilot recruitment: common questions

The license, language, medical and work rules are on our Condor pilot requirements page; the questions below are about the selection itself.

What is the Condor pilot selection process?

For cadets, Condor publishes it: interpersonal’s Basic Qualification aptitude test in Hamburg before you apply, then the online application and a pre-selection on your documents, then the Corporate Qualification, the second and last stage, on personal suitability, and an EASA Class 1 medical with a negative drug screening before the course. For First Officers, the A32X posting for pilots without a type rating recognizes interpersonal’s Basic Qualification certificates and gives priority to applicants with a valid A320 rating; Condor publishes no further stages.

What is the interpersonal Basic Qualification?

The aptitude test of interpersonal, Condor’s selection partner in Hamburg. Its Ready Entry version, for licensed pilots, tests aviation knowledge, English, mathematics, logical reasoning, spatial orientation, concentration, memory and multitasking, with a personality questionnaire, and the certificate is currently valid for 24 months. The Ab-Initio version, which cadets need before they apply, tests cognitive ability and psychomotor skills; cadets book and pay for it themselves, and Condor does not accept a DLR certificate instead.

Is there a simulator check at Condor?

Condor publishes none. interpersonal says that a Ready Entry candidate who passes the Basic Qualification usually moves on to a screening in a full flight simulator or a flight and navigation procedures trainer (FNPT), so prepare for the usual shape: a briefing on the numbers to fly, upper air work, a hold, an ILS to minimums with a missed approach and sometimes an engine failure, flown as a crew, with raw-data flying and standard callouts in both roles.

Do I need German for the Condor selection?

Yes. The First Officer postings ask for German and English, both at Level 4 or above, and the cadet program for fluent German and English. The portal and its postings are in German only, though Condor says the application itself can be made in English. Rehearse your technical and competency answers in both languages.

Does Condor take non-type-rated pilots?

Yes, on both fleets. One A32X posting is for pilots without an A320 type rating: it sets no hours minimum, prefers a CS-25 rating and gives priority to applicants with a valid A320 rating. One A330 posting, as search results show it, is for non-rated pilots with 1,000 hours on Airbus types from the A320 to the A380, or 1,500 hours on multi-crew jets above 20 tonnes. The material we found did not say who pays for the rating or whether it is bonded.