Published prices for airline pilot courses vary widely: EUR 83,990 for the Future Flyer Academy programme at Bartolini Air on the EU scheme, EUR 115,000 for the Generation easyJet MPL course, EUR 163,500 at KLM Flight Academy and USD 220,500 at the Emirates Flight Training Academy. The costs depend on the school, the country, the training aircraft and what is included in the package.178910

Integrated flight training courses are full-time and take 18-24 months to complete.11

The total cost of airline pilot training consists of a number of large building blocks. The costs of pilot training cover ATPL theory (13 EASA subjects), flying hours (multi-engine is more expensive), simulator hours (FNPT and full flight), exam fees per attempt, the Class 1 medical, the type rating and living costs. In an integrated course, the ATPL theory is included in the total price, while modular students often buy it as a separate package from a theory school. Simulator hours are cheaper than real flight hours, but they count towards the total. You pay for the initial medical examination at an aeromedical centre and the periodic renewals yourself. No valid medical certificate means no training. During a full-time integrated course, you hardly have time for paid work. It is advisable to ask each flight school for an itemised quote showing what is included, how many flying hours are in the price and what an extra flying hour costs.1

The biggest surprises rarely lie in the tuition itself, but in the items around it. Additional and hidden costs of pilot training can include the medical examination, renewal of the Class 1 medical, exams and resits, extra flying hours above the legal minimum, accommodation during a flying phase abroad, equipment (headset, uniform, tablet with EFB), a bridging period until the first job, and sometimes the type rating. According to a 2026 guide, in addition to the training costs there are also costs for simulator time and study materials. Rent, flights, visas and insurance for a flying phase abroad are by no means always included in the price. During a bridging period after graduation, your fixed costs continue, and sometimes you have to keep hours or ratings valid.1

For a full-time integrated course you should also budget for rent, groceries, transport and insurance for one and a half to two years. Whether training to CPL-ME-IR in the US under the FAA followed by EASA conversion works out cheaper is something you need to calculate yourself.13

Modular students can start time building straight after the PPL, as the subsequent courses contain no solo hours. For time building in Europe, Jerez is recommended because of the VFR weather and access via Seville. According to a pilot in 2025, low-cost hour building is possible in Poland for about EUR 150 per hour and in Spain for EUR 170 per hour on modern aircraft. In 2025, commercial schools charged for hour building, for example, EUR 145 per hour at Bartolini Air in Poland for a Tecnam P2008JC, provided you fly at least 6 block hours a day, and EUR 170 per hour at Canavia in the Canary Islands for a C150. Landings at selected airfields are then free, but a familiarisation course is mandatory and accommodation plus a ticket add to the cost. For hour building in the US you can assume a daily average of 3.5 to 4 hours, with six hours a day being quite sustainable. When calculating the break-even cost of hour building in the US, allow for a ticket of about EUR 1,000 and accommodation of about EUR 200 per day.23

There are five ways to finance pilot training: a specialised student loan from a bank, a loan or guarantee within the family, your own capital, working and saving through a modular route, and cadet programmes with (partial) airline funding. Specialised student loans from banks are almost always in partnership with specific flight schools and usually require security, often a guarantee from the parents, sometimes backed by home equity. With a bank loan, the amount is usually paid to the school in instalments. You often pay only interest during training, and repayment starts only after completion. An airline cadet programme rarely covers living costs during training, resits and personal equipment.1

A modular route spreads the costs and limits debt, so you can keep working alongside your training. Paying in instalments is possible at Executive Flight. The financing and repayment arrangements of an MPL course differ per programme. According to a pilot in 2025, a loan is only available from a large, well-known EU training provider, not for separate modular parts.13