Virgin Australia Pilot Requirements 2026: Hours, License and Hiring Process

Virgin Australia hires its Boeing 737 First Officers directly, but whether it is taking applications now is unconfirmed: at the last check, on 20 October 2026, its pilot jobs page still said it was “now actively recruiting and processing applications quickly”, while the application its Apply now button opens was closed and its careers site listed no pilot role. You need a current Australian ATPL, or a CPL with passes in all Australian ATPL theory subjects; an Australian instrument rating with the multi-engine, IAP 2D and IAP 3D endorsements; an MCC certificate, English language proficiency Level 6 and an Australian Class 1 medical; and 500 hours total, with 300 in command including 200 multi-engine, or 300 in command of a turbine aircraft, or all 500 on multi-crew aircraft. You must be an Australian or New Zealand citizen, or an Australian permanent resident, when you apply. No 737 rating is asked for, and paid employment starts on the first day of training. Pilots are based in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney, and the fleet had 19 Boeing 737-8s beside its 737-800s in June 2026, with seven more due by the end of the year (Virgin Australia, 13 June 2026).

Is Virgin Australia hiring pilots now?

Unconfirmed at the last check on 20 October 2026 — First Officer seat: Unconfirmed; Captain seat: Unconfirmed. Direct Entry First Officer B737: an Australian ATPL, or a CPL with all ATPL theory; an instrument rating with the MEA, IAP 2D and IAP 3D endorsements; MCC; 500 h total with command, turbine or multi-crew time; Australian or NZ citizen or Australian PR

Requirements, as published

Reading the requirements line by line

• 500 hours, three ways. Every option starts at 500 hours total; what changes is the experience inside them. You qualify with 300 hours in command of a powered fixed-wing aircraft, 200 of them in command of a multi-engine aircraft; or with 300 hours in command of a turbine-powered fixed-wing aircraft; or with all 500 hours on aircraft certified for operation by a crew of at least two pilots, which the page calls multi-crew aircraft. Count each option on its own: command time on a single-engine aircraft counts toward the 300 hours of the first option but not toward its 200 multi-engine hours, and co-pilot time on a multi-crew aircraft counts in full toward the third option but toward the first two only as part of the 500 hours total.
• ICUS time does not count toward the first option. The first option excludes, from both its 300 and its 200 hours, time logged as in command under supervision (ICUS), when you act as pilot in command under the supervision of the aircraft’s pilot in command. The page does not repeat that exclusion for the turbine option, so ask the talent team before you count ICUS time there.
• No full ATPL needed. A CPL is enough if you have passed all the Australian ATPL theory subjects: for airplanes, CASA’s seven ATPL exams, four common to every aircraft category (air law, human factors, navigation and meteorology) and three for airplanes (aerodynamics and aircraft systems, performance and loading, and flight planning), all to be passed within a two-year window (CASA).
• The instrument rating’s endorsements. Your Australian instrument rating must carry the multi-engine endorsement (MEA) and both approach endorsements: IAP 2D, for instrument approaches without vertical guidance, on which you may not descend below the minimum descent altitude without visual reference, and IAP 3D, for approaches with vertical guidance (CASA’s instrument rating pages). The page asks for an Australian rating, so a rating issued abroad does not meet it until CASA has issued the Australian one.
• MCC, English and the medical. The page also asks for an MCC certificate, English language proficiency at Level 6 and a valid Australian Class 1 medical certificate.
• Citizenship when you apply. You must be an Australian or New Zealand citizen, or hold Australian permanent residency, at the time you submit your application, and we found no visa sponsorship. Relocation to your base is at your own expense.

Entry routes

• Direct Entry First Officer B737: an application or expression of interest on Virgin Australia’s careers website; on 20 October 2026 the pilot jobs page still said “actively recruiting and processing applications quickly”, but its Apply now button opened a “First Officer – Boeing 737” application that the application system said had closed on 1 August 2024, and the careers site listed no pilot role
• Virgin Australia Regional Airlines, Perth: expressions of interest for E190-E2 First Officers seen on the same careers site in search results on 19 October 2026; the listings returned “not found” on 20 October 2026
• Virgin Australia Pilot Cadetship — no current intake found in search results on 19 October 2026; whether it still runs is unconfirmed
• Direct entry Captain — not offered on the B737 pilot jobs page; Virgin Australia Regional Airlines has listed direct-entry E190-E2 Training and Check Captain roles in Perth (search results, undated), which returned “not found” on 20 October 2026

Virgin Australia beside the region’s airlines

Virgin Australia beside four other Asia-Pacific airlines on our jobs board, as recorded at each airline’s last check:

Read the right-to-work column first: at an Australian airline it decides an application before the hours do. Virgin Australia Regional Airlines, the group’s Perth-based airline, which flies the Embraer E190-E2s replacing its Fokker 100s, has listed its own roles on Virgin Australia’s careers site, as search results showed on 19 October 2026: expressions of interest for E190-E2 First Officers, and direct-entry E190-E2 Training and Check Captain roles in Perth. On 20 October 2026 those listings returned “not found”, and none of the 41 jobs on the careers site was a pilot role, so they appear to have closed: watch the careers site for new ones.

Selection process

1. Application or expression of interest on Virgin Australia’s careers website: a profile, the application form, your resume and questions on your experience and qualifications
2. Review by the talent team against the eligibility criteria
3. Video interview, done in your own time on a computer, phone or tablet
4. Assessment center in Brisbane: activities that measure your competency against Virgin Australia’s criteria, your behaviors and team dynamics, and a simulator assessment
5. Outcome advised on the day of the assessment center, then a start date

The selection, stage by stage

Virgin Australia sets out its process on its pilot jobs page, read on 20 October 2026:

• Application or expression of interest on its careers website: you create a profile, complete the application form, upload your resume and answer questions about your experience and qualifications. The talent team reviews it against the eligibility criteria, and you receive email updates as it progresses, even if you do not.
• Video interview, done in your own time on a computer, phone or tablet, with more questions about you and the role.
• Assessment center in Brisbane: a variety of activities that measure your competency against Virgin Australia’s criteria, your behaviors and team dynamics, including a simulator assessment. The page recommends business attire, and you are told the outcome on the day.
• After a no. If you are not shortlisted after applying, or not progressed after the assessment center, you are asked to wait 12 months before you reapply, and you may ask the talent team for feedback.

The page does not name the tests of the assessment center. Preparation and careers sites, one dated March 2024 and the others undated, report the COMPASS aptitude battery and a simulator session run by Aviation Australia in Brisbane; we could not confirm this from Virgin Australia, so prepare for timed aptitude tests as well as the simulator. There is no standard time between your application and an opening: openings at each base are planned to operational needs, and you fly the aircraft named in the vacancy or expression of interest you applied for.

Bases and fleet

Bases: B737 First Officers: Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney; openings at each base are planned to operational needs, and the talent team tries to match your preference (pilot jobs page, 20 October 2026) · Virgin Australia Regional Airlines’ E190-E2 roles: Perth (listings seen in search results; not on the careers site on 20 October 2026)

Fleet: Boeing 737s, the fleet B737 First Officers join: 9 737-700s, 74 737-800s and 19 737-8s on Virgin Australia’s fleet page (current at 24 June 2026; read 20 October 2026); seven more 737-8s due by the end of 2026, for 26 (Virgin Australia, 13 June 2026) · Ten 737-10s on firm order, the first expected in late 2027 (Virgin Australia, 13 June 2026) · Virgin Australia Regional Airlines, Perth: Embraer E190-E2s, replacing its Fokker 100s, 5 of them on the fleet page at 24 June 2026; the first entered service on 27 October 2025 (Virgin Australia, October 2025)

How to prepare

Virgin Australia’s Boeing 737 fleet, which its B737 First Officers join, is made up of 737-700s, 737-800s and 737-8s, so the B737 bank below is the core preparation, with the 737 NG to MAX quiz for what the 737-8 changes, and the B737 interview set for systems and scenario questions. The selection ends in an assessment center in Brisbane that includes a simulator assessment: if your hours are on single-pilot aircraft, practice flying instrument approaches as one of a crew of two, with callouts and a shared workload, before you go, and revise the 2D and 3D approach procedures your instrument rating’s endorsements cover. The center also measures your behaviors and how you work in a team, so prepare competency examples and the crew resource management questions with the CRM interview set; the video interview before it is done in your own time, so rehearse answering on camera. Keep the theory fresh with the ATPL theory banks, which follow the EASA syllabus rather than CASA’s. Do the paperwork first: total your logbook against the three experience options, with ICUS time on its own line, and hold your Class 1, your MCC certificate and every ATPL theory pass before you apply.

Virgin Australia has no interview guide on v1prep yet, so for the video interview and the assessment center read the complete airline pilot interview guide and the Library’s competency-based pilot interviews, airline simulator assessment and pilot aptitude tests; its multi-crew cooperation courses explains the MCC certificate. For the aircraft, our 737 NG to MAX Difference Training course sets out what changed from the 737-800 to the 737-8, and our top 25 B737 type rating questions are a quick check. The license route from zero hours is on how to become an airline pilot in Australia, and Australia’s other large recruiter is on Qantas Group pilot requirements. Check Virgin Australia’s entry on the jobs board for the latest status.

What we could not confirm

• Whether Virgin Australia is taking pilot applications now: its pilot jobs page says it is actively recruiting, but on 20 October 2026 the application its Apply now button opens was closed, and its careers site listed no pilot role, B737 or E190-E2
• What the assessment center contains beyond what the pilot jobs page says: preparation and careers sites, one dated March 2024 and the others undated, report the COMPASS aptitude battery and a simulator session run by Aviation Australia in Brisbane, which Virgin Australia’s page does not name
• Who pays for the B737 type rating and whether a training bond applies; the page says only that paid employment starts on the first day of training
• Starting pay: the pilot jobs page refers to the Narrow Body Aircraft Pilots’ Enterprise Agreement 2021, while a 2024 agreement of the same name appears in search results; salary guides’ figures are not Virgin Australia’s
• Whether the Virgin Australia Pilot Cadetship still runs: the latest intake we found in press reports is its relaunch with Flight Training Adelaide in October 2017, with 2018 recruiting, and a flight school’s article of about 2023 said the ab-initio cadetship was no longer offered (search results, 16 October 2026)
• The requirements of Virgin Australia Regional Airlines’ E190-E2 First Officer and direct-entry Training and Check Captain listings, which we could not read

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 Virgin Australia hiring pilots? Unconfirmed at the last check, on 20 October 2026. Virgin Australia’s pilot jobs page still said it was now hiring commercial pilots for a range of ports in Australia and was actively recruiting and processing applications quickly, for First Officers on the B737, but its Apply now button opened a First Officer – Boeing 737 application that Virgin Australia’s application system said had closed on 1 August 2024, and none of the 41 jobs on its careers site was a pilot role. Watch the careers website for a new listing; openings at each base are planned to operational needs.

How many hours do you need to fly for Virgin Australia? 500 hours total, with one of three kinds of experience: 300 hours in command of a powered fixed-wing aircraft, including 200 in command of a multi-engine aircraft, with ICUS time excluded; 300 hours in command of a turbine-powered fixed-wing aircraft; or all 500 hours on aircraft certified for a crew of at least two pilots.

Do I need an ATPL to fly for Virgin Australia? No. A current Australian ATPL is accepted, and so is a CPL with passes in all Australian ATPL theory subjects. You also need an Australian instrument rating with the multi-engine, IAP 2D and IAP 3D endorsements, an MCC certificate, English language proficiency Level 6 and a valid Australian Class 1 medical certificate. No 737 type rating is asked for.

Can a foreign pilot fly for Virgin Australia? Only with the right to live and work in Australia already: you must be an Australian or New Zealand citizen, or hold Australian permanent residency, when you apply, and we found no visa sponsorship. The license, rating and medical must also be Australian, so a pilot trained abroad needs CASA to issue them first.

What is the Virgin Australia pilot selection process? An application or expression of interest on its careers website, reviewed by the talent team; a video interview done in your own time; and an assessment center in Brisbane with activities that measure competency, behaviors and team dynamics, and a simulator assessment, with the outcome given on the day. If you are not shortlisted, or not progressed after the assessment center, you wait 12 months before you reapply.