Pilot Jobs With 1,500 Hours 2026: 19 Airlines Where 1,001 to 1,500 Hours Gets You In
1,500 hours is where the airline transport pilot license begins: ICAO Annex 1, the FAA and EASA all set it as the flight time for that license, and in the United States an airline First Officer needs the ATP certificate itself. Of the 62 airlines on our jobs board that publish a First Officer entry for pilots without a type rating, 19 set it above 1,000 and at most 1,500 hours, every one of them at exactly 1,500 hours: 3 in Europe, 12 in North America, 1 in the Middle East, 1 in Asia-Pacific and 2 in Africa. At the last check 11 of them had the First Officer seat open, and the status of 6 was unconfirmed. The same number hides different logbooks: total time at one airline, turbine time or time in command at another, hours on multi-pilot or heavy airplanes at a third. This page lists each airline with what it counts toward its 1,500, which certificate it wants when you apply, the rules behind the number and the traps in a 1,500-hour vacancy. Every published minimum, low or high, is on the hours requirements page.
Always confirm on the airline’s own careers page before applying. Every figure here is what the airline published at the date shown against it on our jobs board; entries marked Unconfirmed are ones whose requirements we found but whose current vacancy status we could not establish from the airline’s own pages. Vacancies open and close without notice.
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The airlines with a 1,001 to 1,500-hour entry (19)
Each airline whose lowest published First Officer entry for a pilot without a type rating falls in the band, by its status at the last check: 12 recruiting for at least one seat. The minimum is the airline’s own summary, in its own measure of hours; the type rating column is what its First Officer entries ask.
| Airline | Region | Published minimum | F/O seat | Type rating | Right to work | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska Airlines (incl. Hawaiian) Recruiting | North America | 1,500 h · 500 h turbine | Recruiting | Not required | US | 13 October 2026 |
| American Airlines Recruiting | North America | 1,500 h | Recruiting | Not required | US · unrestricted | 14 October 2026 |
| Breeze Airways Recruiting | North America | 1,500 h · 750 h fixed-wing | Recruiting | Not required | US | 21 September 2026 |
| British Airways Recruiting | Europe | 500 h or 100 sectors on type (rated F/O) | Recruiting | Rated and non-rated streams | UK | 24 October 2026 |
| Delta Air Lines Recruiting | North America | 1,500 h · 250 h PIC/SIC · 1,000 h turbine preferred | Recruiting | Not required | US · no sponsorship | 13 October 2026 |
| Ethiopian Airlines Recruiting | Africa | Capt 3,500 h jet · FO 1,500 h (closed) | Unconfirmed | Not required | Expat contract · Capt up to 60 | 16 October 2026 |
| flyadeal Recruiting | Middle East | FO 1,500 h A320/330 · Capt 4,000 h | Recruiting | Rated and non-rated streams | Saudi work permit · NTR for nationals | 29 September 2026 |
| Frontier Airlines Recruiting | North America | 1,500 h | Recruiting | Not required | US | 16 October 2026 |
| JetBlue Recruiting | North America | 1,500 h · 500 h fixed-wing | Recruiting | Not required | US · no sponsorship | 14 October 2026 |
| Piedmont Airlines Recruiting | North America | 1,500 h · R-ATP accepted | Recruiting | Not required | US · no sponsorship | 24 October 2026 |
| Scoot Recruiting | Asia-Pacific | 1,500 h on 5,700 kg+ airplanes | Recruiting | Not required | Pass sponsored | 21 September 2026 |
| United Airlines Recruiting | North America | 1,500 h direct entry | Recruiting | Not required | US · no sponsorship | 13 October 2026 |
| Atlas Air Unconfirmed | North America | 1,500 h · 2,500 h preferred | Unconfirmed | Not required | US · 24-month passport | 22 October 2026 |
| Cargolux Unconfirmed | Europe | 1,500 h multi-pilot CS-25 | Unconfirmed | Not required | EU | 18 October 2026 |
| FedEx Express Unconfirmed | North America | 1,500 h · 500 h PIC jet/turboprop | Unconfirmed | Not required | US passport · no sponsorship | 23 October 2026 |
| Norwegian Unconfirmed | Europe | 500 h on B737 if rated · 1,500 h if not | Unconfirmed | Rated and non-rated streams | EU/EEC · unrestricted passport | 21 September 2026 |
| South African Airways Unconfirmed | Africa | 1,500 h (200 h multi-engine) | Unconfirmed | Not required | SA citizen | 23 October 2026 |
| UPS Airlines Unconfirmed | North America | 1,500 h · 1,000 h PIC jet/turboprop | Unconfirmed | Not required | US · no sponsorship | 14 October 2026 |
| Allegiant Air Not recruiting | North America | 1,500 h · R-ATP 750–1,250 h (relayed) | Not recruiting | Not required | US · no sponsorship (relayed) | 23 October 2026 |
First Officer seat open at the last check: Alaska Airlines (incl. Hawaiian), American Airlines, Breeze Airways, British Airways, Delta Air Lines, flyadeal, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue, Piedmont Airlines, Scoot and United Airlines. Closed or paused: Allegiant Air. Unconfirmed: Atlas Air, Cargolux, FedEx Express, Norwegian, South African Airways and UPS Airlines.
What each airline counts toward the 1,500
The airline’s figure, then what its record says those hours must be, in its own words:
- 1,500 hours at Alaska Airlines (incl. Hawaiian), total documented time, 500 of them fixed-wing turbine, airplane and powered-lift combined, on both its Alaska and its Hawaiian seniority lists (checked 13 October 2026)
- 1,500 hours at American Airlines, total time, with a current unrestricted FAA ATP certificate held, by its First Officer posting as a job board relays it (checked 14 October 2026)
- 1,500 hours at Breeze Airways, total time, simulator and flight engineer time excluded, with 750 fixed-wing and 500 cross-country, as search results of its pages showed (checked 21 September 2026)
- 1,500 hours at British Airways, on a ZFTT-qualifying type, flown within the last 12 months, as the alternative to 500 hours or 100 sectors on the A320, in an older, undated advert for its Heathrow A320 fleet; whether any of its direct-entry listings is open is among the points we could not confirm (checked 24 October 2026)
- 1,500 hours at Delta Air Lines, total documented flight time, with 250 as pilot in command or second in command in airplanes, citing 14 CFR 61.159(a)(5), and 50 on multi-engine airplanes; 1,000 hours of fixed-wing turbine time is preferred, and how strictly Delta applies its turbine figures is among the points we could not confirm (checked 13 October 2026)
- 1,500 hours at Ethiopian Airlines, on multi-pilot airplanes, on a non-rated 737NG First Officer advert that job boards copied and that is marked closed; whether Ethiopian still runs a non-rated First Officer stream is among the points we could not confirm (checked 16 October 2026)
- 1,500 hours at flyadeal, on the A320 or A330 family on its type-rated posting, or on turbojets with FMC and EFIS in place of the A320 rating on another, as search results of its postings showed (checked 29 September 2026)
- 1,500 hours at Frontier Airlines, total time, counting only fixed-wing and rotary-wing flying: hours in simulators, or as flight engineer, navigator, weapon systems officer or UAV crew, do not count; it prefers 2,500 in all, 750 multi-engine, 500 in command and 500 on jets or turboprops (checked 16 October 2026)
- 1,500 hours at JetBlue, total flight time, at least 500 of them in fixed-wing airplanes; it prefers 3,500 or more, counting turbine helicopter time but not simulator or flight engineer time, with more than 1,000 as pilot in command of fixed-wing turbine aircraft (checked 14 October 2026)
- 1,500 hours at Piedmont Airlines, total, with 50 multi-engine and 250 in command, or the restricted-ATP minimums, for which its First Officer page prints no figure (checked 24 October 2026)
- 1,500 hours at Scoot, more than 1,500 hours of fixed-wing time on airplanes of 5,700 kg maximum takeoff mass or more, as search results of its pages showed (checked 21 September 2026)
- 1,500 hours at United Airlines, total flight time for direct entry, with 1,000 hours of fixed-wing turbine time and 100 in the last 12 months preferred (checked 13 October 2026)
- 1,500 hours at Atlas Air, total time, with 2,500 in a Part 121, 135 or 91 or military environment preferred (checked 22 October 2026)
- 1,500 hours at Cargolux, multi-pilot and multi-engine, on jets or on CS-25 turboprops above 10 tonnes or 19 seats (checked 18 October 2026)
- 1,500 hours at FedEx Express, fixed-wing, student time included, with at least 500 as pilot in command of jets, multi-engine turboprops of 12,500 lb or more or certain single-engine turboprops such as the T-6 and the PC-12, and 1,000 such hours preferred; simulator, helicopter, flight engineer and navigator time does not count (checked 23 October 2026)
- 1,500 hours at Norwegian, total time on its non-rated route, 500 of them on multi-crew, multi-engine aircraft, or 800 in all for military pilots; its 737-rated route asks only 500 hours on type, and both vacancies closed on 31 August 2026 (checked 21 September 2026)
- 1,500 hours at South African Airways, of flying, at least 200 of them on multi-engine aircraft, on a South African frozen ATPL with a multi-engine instrument rating, by its undated careers page (checked 23 October 2026)
- 1,500 hours at UPS Airlines, fixed-wing pilot time, with 1,000 as pilot in command, as 14 CFR 1.1 defines it, of fixed-wing jets or multi-engine turboprops, though whether that 1,000 is a minimum or a preference is among the points we could not confirm; military candidates may add 0.3 hours per sortie (checked 14 October 2026)
- 1,500 hours at Allegiant Air, the ATP aeronautical experience of 14 CFR 61.159(a), with 250 in an airplane as pilot in command, 100 of them cross-country and 25 at night, and 75 of instrument time, every hour logged as 14 CFR 61.51 requires and no conversion of flight hours accepted, by job-board copies of its posting; whether it takes each restricted-ATP tier is among the points we could not confirm (checked 23 October 2026)
Read the qualifier, not the headline. A flight instructor with 1,500 hours of single-engine piston time meets the total-time figures and none of the turbine, command-on-jets or multi-pilot ones. The airlines that take First Officers at 500 hours or less are on the low-hour pilot jobs page.
Certificate in hand, or the experience and the written
In the United States the hours are only half the requirement. A pilot may serve as second in command in a Part 121 operation only with an airline transport pilot certificate and a type rating for the aircraft (14 CFR 121.436(b)), so every US airline here ends with you holding the ATP; they differ on whether you must hold it when you apply. Held when you apply: American wants a current unrestricted FAA ATP certificate with the multi-engine rating (checked 14 October 2026); United an unrestricted FAA ATP certificate with the multi-engine rating (checked 13 October 2026); JetBlue an unrestricted FAA ATP certificate with airplane and multi-engine ratings, and an FCC radiotelephone permit (checked 14 October 2026); Frontier an FAA ATP certificate and an FCC restricted radiotelephone permit (checked 16 October 2026); FedEx an FAA ATP certificate and an FCC radiotelephone permit (checked 23 October 2026); UPS a current unrestricted FAA ATP certificate with the multi-engine rating (checked 14 October 2026); Atlas a restricted or unrestricted ATP certificate, though whether it still accepts the restricted one is among the points we could not confirm (checked 22 October 2026). The experience and the written are enough to apply: Delta takes an FAA Commercial certificate with the instrument rating, a current ATP written test and all the ATP aeronautical experience of 14 CFR 61.159 (checked 13 October 2026); Alaska does the same on its Alaska list, preferring the ATP certificate, while its Hawaiian list wants the ATP held (checked 13 October 2026); Breeze a Commercial certificate with multi-engine and instrument ratings and a current ATP written if you do not hold the ATP, as search results showed (checked 21 September 2026); Allegiant a Commercial certificate with multi-engine and instrument ratings, or an ATP, with the ATP-CTP graduation certificate and a current ATP written test, by job-board copies of its posting (checked 23 October 2026). Meeting the requirements is enough to apply: Piedmont asks that you meet the minimum requirements to hold an ATP or restricted ATP with the multi-engine rating, by its First Officer page, and pays the ATP-CTP course and the ATP written for its cadets (checked 24 October 2026). The FAA ATP itself comes at 23 under 14 CFR 61.159, or at 21 under the restricted-ATP rules of 61.160 (61.153(a)). The FAA ATP written test guide covers the written, and the USA country page the whole route.
Outside the United States each airline names its own license: Norwegian wants an EASA ATPL, or a CPL with all the ATPL theory, with a valid multi-engine instrument rating, preferably issued by Denmark, Sweden or Norway, any other EASA license to be converted to one of those within 12 months of your contract (checked 21 September 2026); Cargolux a Part-FCL ATPL, a CPL with instrument rating and ATPL theory, or an MPL, and your agreement to transfer the license to Luxembourg (checked 18 October 2026); Scoot a CAAS or other ICAO CPL or ATPL, as search results showed (checked 21 September 2026); South African Airways a South African frozen ATPL with a multi-engine instrument rating (checked 23 October 2026); Ethiopian a current JAA, FAA or ICAO ATPL, as its postings word it, with an authentication letter from the authority that issued it (checked 16 October 2026); flyadeal a current ICAO ATPL, naming GACA, FAA and EASA licenses, as search results showed (checked 29 September 2026); British Airways a UK license, held or with the transfer to the UK CAA under way (checked 24 October 2026). Under EASA’s rule a CPL with a multi-engine instrument rating, MCC training and the ATPL theory, the frozen ATPL, can become a full ATPL at 1,500 hours with 500 of them multi-pilot, through an ATPL skill test (next section).
The rules behind 1,500 hours
- ICAO Annex 1 (2.6.3.1.1): an ATPL applicant has at least 1,500 hours of flight time as a pilot of airplanes, and the licensing authority decides whether time under instruction in a flight simulation training device counts, up to 100 hours, no more than 25 of them in a flight procedure trainer or basic instrument trainer.
- The FAA (14 CFR 61.159(a)): 1,500 hours of total time as a pilot, including 500 cross-country, 100 at night, 50 in the class of airplane, 75 of instrument time and 250 in an airplane as pilot in command, or as second in command performing the duties of pilot in command under supervision, 100 of them cross-country and 25 at night; no more than 100 hours in a full flight simulator or flight training device on an approved course. The restricted ATP of 61.160 lowers the total to 750 hours for US military pilots, 1,000 with an aviation bachelor’s degree and 1,250 with an aviation associate degree, each from an institution the FAA authorizes; no airline on this page sets its entry at one of those figures, and the US airlines on our board with an entry at 750, 1,000 or 1,250 hours are Envoy Air, SkyWest Airlines and Republic Airways, on the USA and Canada jobs page.
- EASA (FCL.510.A): 1,500 hours in airplanes, 500 of them in multi-pilot operations, with 250 as pilot in command, or 500 in command under supervision, or 250 combining the two with at least 70 in command, plus 200 cross-country, 100 at night and 75 on instruments, of which no more than 30 in a ground trainer; up to 100 of the 1,500 may be flown in simulators, no more than 25 of them in an FNPT, and half of any flight engineer time is credited to the holder of a flight engineer license, up to 250 hours. The applicant holds an MPL, or a CPL with a multi-engine instrument rating and MCC training, and completes the hours before the ATPL skill test (FCL.520.A). European airlines may hire First Officers on the frozen ATPL long before that, so a European airline’s 1,500-hour minimum is its own choice, not the license’s.
How to read a 1,500-hour vacancy
- The minimum is not the hire. Several airlines here publish a preference above the minimum (see what each one counts, above), and the reports of who gets hired run higher still: preparation providers reported in 2026 that FedEx’s successful applicants typically had about 4,000 hours, a figure FedEx does not publish and we could not confirm (checked 23 October 2026); preparation providers report about 4,000 hours, with 1,000 or more of turbine time in command, for UPS’s recent hires, figures UPS does not publish (checked 14 October 2026); pilot job sites and preparation providers report figures well above the 1,500-hour minimum for JetBlue’s recent hires, which JetBlue does not publish (checked 14 October 2026).
- Simulator and crew time. The FAA and EASA rules let up to 100 simulator hours count toward the ATP or ATPL, and both credit flight engineer time: EASA half of it, up to 250 hours, and the FAA one hour for every three flown as a Part 121 or US military flight engineer, up to 500 (14 CFR 61.159(d)). An airline’s own count can be stricter: JetBlue does not count simulator or flight engineer time toward its preferred total (checked 14 October 2026); Frontier counts only fixed-wing and rotary-wing flying (checked 16 October 2026); FedEx counts no simulator, helicopter, flight engineer or navigator time (checked 23 October 2026); Breeze leaves out simulator and flight engineer time, as search results showed (checked 21 September 2026). Total your logbook the airline’s way before you apply.
- Military time. Norwegian takes military pilots from 800 hours on its non-rated route (checked 21 September 2026); FedEx converts sorties to hours through the same pilot profile (checked 23 October 2026); UPS adds 0.3 hours per sortie, though how it applies them is among the points we could not confirm (checked 14 October 2026). The FAA’s restricted ATP for US military pilots starts at 750 hours (14 CFR 61.160(a)).
- The right to work. Scoot is the one airline here that says it sponsors a visa or work pass; 15 ask for a nationality, a residence or a right to work you already hold, and for Ethiopian Airlines, flyadeal and Allegiant Air the record gives no single rule. Scoot sponsors an employment pass, as search results of its pages showed (checked 21 September 2026); flyadeal’s non-rated streams are for Saudi nationals only (checked 29 September 2026); South African Airways recruits South African citizens (checked 23 October 2026); Norwegian asks for the legal right to live and work in the “EU/EEC region”, as its vacancy put it, and a five-year security check (checked 21 September 2026). The airlines that do sponsor are on the visa sponsorship page.
- Postings open and close. At the last checks: Delta takes First Officer applications continuously (checked 13 October 2026); so does American (checked 14 October 2026); so does United (checked 13 October 2026); Norwegian’s two First Officer vacancies closed on 31 August 2026 (checked 21 September 2026); Allegiant’s First Officer application window was closed, with no date for reopening (checked 23 October 2026); FedEx selects from the pilot profiles in its applicant pool, and we could not confirm that it is selecting this autumn (checked 23 October 2026). A published minimum is not an open vacancy: apply on the airline’s own careers site.
Cadet and pathway routes at these airlines
16 of the 19 airlines here also name a cadet, academy or pathway route, from ab-initio training to a partner airline you fly for until you have the hours; some lead to an interview or a conditional offer, others promise no job. The routes, worded as recorded:
- Alaska Airlines (incl. Hawaiian) Intake: Not stated
Horizon Air Pilot Pathways Program — Horizon pilots on the Pathways List become eligible for an Alaska class date after 1,000 h PIC at Horizon (Alaska’s Ascend Pathways page also asks for 2,000 h total at Horizon) · Ascend Pilot Academy and the Horizon Air Pilot Development Program — ab-initio routes to a Horizon seat (Ascend recruited for 2026; the Development Program’s 2026 intake not confirmed) (checked 13 October 2026) - American Airlines Intake: Not stated
American Airlines Cadet Academy — ab-initio with financing (checked 14 October 2026) - British Airways Intake: Not stated
Speedbird Pilot Academy — BA’s funded cadet route, seen in search results on 21 September 2026 (outside our study-guide research; confirm intake dates and terms on careers.ba.com) (checked 24 October 2026) - Delta Air Lines Intake: Not stated
Propel Pilot Career Path Program — college, company and community pathways with a defined path to a Delta seat (checked 13 October 2026) - Ethiopian Airlines Intake: Not stated
Ethiopian Aviation University cadet route — ET-sponsored trainee pilot intakes for Ethiopian applicants (checked 16 October 2026) - flyadeal Intake: Not stated
Cadet Pilot — posting on flyadeal’s portal (eligibility not captured) (checked 29 September 2026) - Frontier Airlines Intake: Closed at last check
F9 Pilot Cadet Program — ab initio at ATP Flight School, a commercial pilot in as little as 24 months, then a First Officer role; application window temporarily closed at the last check (program page, 16 October 2026) · University Pathway Program — partner schools, from 600 h, ATP or restricted-ATP eligible; application window temporarily closed on the program page, while the pilot careers page said University applications were open (16 October 2026) (checked 16 October 2026) - JetBlue Intake: Not stated
Gateway Select — ab initio, about 3.5 years full time in Pensacola, for candidates with no more than a private pilot certificate; training with SkyWarrior Flight Training; applications taken in designated periods · Gateway University — students with at least an instrument rating, or flight instructors, at JetBlue’s partner colleges and universities; then instructing and flying for a partner or Part 121 regional airline · Gateway Flex and Gateway Family — for JetBlue crewmembers (Flex) and their family members (Family) (checked 14 October 2026) - Piedmont Airlines Intake: Not stated
Piedmont Cadet Program — apply at 400 h with a commercial multi-engine certificate and instrument rating, admitted at 500 h; build hours anywhere, at least 60 a month, with USD 4,500 to help build them; at the ATP minimums Piedmont pays the ATP-CTP course and the ATP written, then the next available new-hire class with no additional interview · American Airlines Cadet Academy — ab-initio at a partner school, then a cadet place at Envoy, Piedmont or PSA (American’s Cadet Academy pages) (checked 24 October 2026) - Scoot Intake: Not stated
Scoot Cadet Pilot Programme — periodic (checked 21 September 2026) - United Airlines Intake: Not stated
Aviate — United Aviate Academy (ab-initio) then partner carrier then United · Aviate transition — 1,200 or 1,600 h PIC at an Aviate-participating United Express carrier or Part 135 operator, depending on the Aviate entry point (Aviate FAQ; Program Guide chapter 5) (checked 13 October 2026) - Atlas Air Intake: Not stated
Atlas Cadet Academy, with Spartan Education Group at Illinois Aviation Academy in West Chicago: training toward an Atlas First Officer application; employment not guaranteed, and only after an unrestricted ATP · Pathway to Success program with partner universities, Embry-Riddle the first (announced May 2022; not confirmed since): preferential interviews for selected graduates (checked 22 October 2026) - FedEx Express Intake: Not stated
Purple Runway — FedEx’s partner-carrier pathway at Mountain Air Cargo, IFL Group, Empire Airlines or Corporate Air: an upfront FedEx interview, then 36 months and 500 h multi-engine turboprop PIC with the partner (checked 23 October 2026) - South African Airways Intake: Not stated
Cadet Pilot Development Programme — bursary to frozen ATPL, then apply; no guaranteed job at SAA; five selection phases, among them psychometric testing and panel interviews, and a training bond (SAA’s Youth Development page) (checked 23 October 2026) - UPS Airlines Intake: Not stated
UPS FlightPath I — a 12-month UPS internship for recent graduates or university juniors and seniors with a Commercial certificate with multi-engine and instrument ratings, then at least 30 months as an Ameriflight pilot before a UPS First Officer interview · UPS FlightPath II — for Ameriflight pilots selected by Ameriflight (UPS asks for at least 1,000 hours and a turboprop captain’s seat): a program UPS calls 36 months, with a UPS mentoring stage, leading to a UPS First Officer interview (checked 14 October 2026) - Allegiant Air Intake: Closed at last check
Accelerate Pilot Pathway — students in the Part 141 programs of the 13 partner universities on Allegiant’s careers page, among them Purdue, Kent State, Ohio University, Western Michigan, Utah Valley, Liberty, the University of North Dakota, Florida Tech, Eastern Kentucky, Embry-Riddle Prescott and Arizona State Polytechnic: hired as a cadet with a conditional First Officer offer in the senior year, then an Allegiant-sponsored ATP-CTP once the hours are reached; at the last check the careers page said “The Allegiant Pilot Pathway Program application window is now closed” while its Accelerate section was still headed “Accepting cadets” · Altitude Pilot Pathway — ab-initio training at McAir Aviation, a Spartan Education Group school in Colorado: a conditional First Officer offer and an Allegiant-sponsored ATP-CTP after the program, from age 19 (Allegiant’s listing, as search results showed it); application window closed at the last check, as the careers page’s Pilot Pathway Program notice reads (checked 23 October 2026)
Who pays, and what each scheme leads to, is compared on the cadet programs page.
Below and above the band
With 1,500 hours in the measure each airline asks for, you reach the lowest published First Officer entry for pilots without a type rating at 58 of the 62 airlines on our board that publish one: these 19, and 39 with a lower figure, 33 of them below 1,000 hours. Just below the band, at 1,000 hours, are Arajet, Loganair, Porter Airlines, Republic Airways, Copa Airlines and LATAM Airlines Group. Above it: 2,000 hours at Riyadh Air and Air Canada; 2,500 hours at Southwest Airlines; 4,000 hours at Japan Airlines. The direct entry Captain jobs page lists the airlines that take Captains from outside, where the published minimums start higher.
For the selection, the interview guides for Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, British Airways, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, FedEx Express and Norwegian, the complete interview guide, and the Library’s airline pilot recruitment and selection and commercial and airline transport pilot licenses articles.
Common questions
Which airlines hire First Officers with 1,500 hours? On our jobs board, 19 airlines set their lowest published First Officer entry for pilots without a type rating above 1,000 and at most 1,500 hours: Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Breeze Airways, British Airways, Delta Air Lines, Ethiopian Airlines, flyadeal, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue, Piedmont Airlines, Scoot, United Airlines, Atlas Air, Cargolux, FedEx Express, Norwegian, South African Airways, UPS Airlines and Allegiant Air. At the last check the seat was open at Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Breeze Airways, British Airways, Delta Air Lines, flyadeal, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue, Piedmont Airlines, Scoot and United Airlines. With 1,500 hours you also reach the lower entries of 39 more airlines; the tables give the date each airline was checked.
Is 1,500 hours enough for a US airline? It is the FAA’s figure for the unrestricted ATP certificate under 14 CFR 61.159, and a Part 121 First Officer must hold an ATP certificate (14 CFR 121.436(b)), so it is a floor, not a guarantee. American Airlines, United Airlines, JetBlue, Frontier Airlines, FedEx Express, UPS Airlines and Atlas Air want an ATP certificate held when you apply; Delta Air Lines, Alaska Airlines, Breeze Airways and Allegiant Air take the Commercial certificate with the ATP experience and the written, and the ATP follows in training; Piedmont Airlines asks that you meet the minimum requirements for an ATP or a restricted ATP. Several also prefer turbine time or more total time than the minimum.
Do simulator hours count toward 1,500 hours? Up to 100 hours can, under the FAA’s rule (in an approved course, 14 CFR 61.159(a)(6)) and EASA’s (FCL.510.A, no more than 25 of them in an FNPT), and ICAO Annex 1 leaves it to the licensing authority within the same 100. Some airlines count none: JetBlue does not count simulator or flight engineer time toward its preferred total; Frontier counts only fixed-wing and rotary-wing flying; FedEx counts no simulator, helicopter, flight engineer or navigator time; Breeze leaves out simulator and flight engineer time, as search results showed.
What is the difference between 1,500 hours under the FAA and EASA? Both set 1,500 hours for the airline transport license. The FAA asks for 250 as pilot in command or second in command performing those duties, 500 cross-country, 100 at night and 75 of instrument time, and its restricted ATP lowers the total to 750, 1,000 or 1,250 hours. EASA adds that 500 of the 1,500 are in multi-pilot operations, and European airlines hire on the frozen ATPL long before 1,500 hours.
Can I get a job with 1,000 hours instead? Yes, at airlines whose entry is lower: 39 airlines on our board publish a figure below this band, Arajet, Loganair, Porter Airlines, Republic Airways, Copa Airlines and LATAM Airlines Group at exactly 1,000 hours. In the United States, graduates of FAA-authorized aviation degrees qualify for a restricted ATP at 1,000 or 1,250 hours, and US military pilots at 750 (14 CFR 61.160).
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