Eurowings Pilot Requirements 2026: Hours, Licence and Hiring Process

Eurowings has routes into both seats, all on the A320 family. At the last check, on 21 September 2026, its own cockpit careers page and a Eurowings Europe vacancy for A320-family First Officers, type-rated or not, based in Prague under what the advert calls the WINGS Pattern, appeared in search results; we could not read the portals themselves. Non-rated First Officers are given the A320 rating, but we could not confirm the hours minimum on the current vacancy. Captains have two routes: a direct-entry Captain route on the A320, and a fast-track Captain programme for First Officers with 4,000 hours or more on aircraft above 19.5 tonnes, at least 350 landings and active line flying in the last 24 months, with preference for pilots rated on the A320 with 500 hours on type. Applicants for either seat need an EASA ATPL(A), a CPL(A)/IR with ATPL theory, or an MPL, an EASA Class 1, ICAO English Level 4 and the right to work in the EU or EEA; German is useful rather than required. The bases run from Düsseldorf, Cologne/Bonn and the other German cities to Vienna, Salzburg, Prague and Palma, and some contracts ask you to live in the country of your base.

Is Eurowings hiring pilots now?

Recruiting at the last check on 21 September 2026 — First Officer seat: Recruiting; Captain seat: Recruiting. A320-family First Officers, rated or non-rated (e.g. Prague under the WINGS Pattern), plus direct-entry and fast-track Captains from 4,000 h on 19.5 t+ aircraft

Requirements, as published

Entry routes

• First Officer A320 family — type-rated or non-type-rated
• Direct entry Captain A320
• Fast-track Captain — 4,000 h on aircraft above 19.5 t MTOW, 350+ landings, active line flying in the last 24 months; preference for A320-rated with 500 h on type
• Ab-initio via European Flight Academy

The two Captain routes

• Direct-entry Captain, A320. Listed as a route of its own; the material we found spelled out conditions only for the fast track below.
• Fast-track Captain. For First Officers with 4,000 hours or more on aircraft above 19.5 tonnes MTOW, at least 350 landings and active line flying in the last 24 months, with preference for pilots rated on the A320 who have 500 hours on type.

Three conditions in the fast-track list are easy to miss. The 4,000 hours must be on aircraft above 19.5 tonnes, so time on light aircraft and smaller turboprops does not count towards it. The 350 landings favour a short-haul logbook over long cruise sectors. And active line flying in the last 24 months rules out a pilot who has been away from the line for two years, whatever the total.

Eurowings and the other German airlines

The other German airlines on our jobs board, as recorded at each airline’s last check:

Each publishes its own vacancies and requirements, so applying to one is not applying to the others.

Selection process

The airline does not publish its selection stages in detail; expect an online application, screening against the published minimums, an interview and a simulator or aptitude assessment before the medical.

Bases and fleet

Bases: Düsseldorf · Cologne/Bonn · Hamburg · Stuttgart · Berlin · Munich · Vienna · Salzburg · Prague · Palma

Fleet: A319 / A320 / A320neo · A321neo

How to prepare

Eurowings flies nothing but the A320 family, the A319, A320, A320neo and A321neo, so the A320 bank is the technical preparation for every route, ceo and neo differences included. For a non-rated First Officer, the ATPL theory banks cover the theory any technical interview draws on, and the A320 bank is a head start on the type you would be trained on. We found no published selection stages, so prepare for aptitude testing, a competency interview and a simulator check. A fast-track Captain applicant should total the logbook the way the programme counts it, hours on aircraft above 19.5 tonnes, landings and line flying in the last 24 months, and be ready for the command side of the interview: decisions you have made, how you lead a crew and how you handle a disagreement on the flight deck.

For the interview itself, read our Eurowings pilot interview guide, which covers the simulator check and the A320 family questions for every route; Captain applicants will find the Library’s command upgrade article useful, and the published minimums of other Captain routes are compared on direct entry Captain jobs. The ab-initio route through the European Flight Academy is described on our Lufthansa Group requirements page, and the Library covers the A320 flight control laws and protections. Check Eurowings’ entry on the jobs board for the latest status.

What we could not confirm

• Researched on 21 September 2026 from search-engine results of the airline’s own careers pages, job postings and industry job boards — not from a direct read of the portal. Confirm the vacancy is still open before you apply.
• First Officer hours minimum on the current vacancy
• WINGS Pattern contract terms

These points are not published clearly by the airline. Treat them as leads, not facts, and confirm them on the careers page: careers page.

Common questions

Is Eurowings hiring pilots? Yes, at the last check, on 21 September 2026. Eurowings’ own cockpit careers page and a Eurowings Europe vacancy for A320-family First Officers, rated or non-rated, based in Prague, appeared in search results, and its fast-track Captain programme was published. We could not read the portals themselves, so confirm that a vacancy is open before you apply.

How many hours do you need to fly for Eurowings? For a First Officer the figure is set in each vacancy, and we could not confirm the minimum on the current one; non-rated pilots are accepted. The fast-track Captain programme asks for 4,000 hours on aircraft above 19.5 tonnes MTOW, at least 350 landings and active line flying in the last 24 months.

Does Eurowings take non-type-rated pilots? Yes, as First Officers: the A320-family First Officer vacancy is open to type-rated and non-type-rated pilots, and Eurowings provides the A320 rating to non-rated joiners. The material we found gave no bond or cost terms for the rating.

Do you need to speak German to fly for Eurowings? No. Eurowings asks for ICAO English Level 4 and lists German as useful rather than required. You do need the right to work in the EU or EEA, and some contracts also ask you to live in the country of your base.

Does Eurowings hire direct entry Captains? Yes. Eurowings lists a direct-entry Captain route on the A320 and a fast-track Captain programme for First Officers with 4,000 hours or more on aircraft above 19.5 tonnes, with preference for A320-rated pilots with 500 hours on type.