Becoming A Pilot Is Your Dream? Air France Recruiting for Cadet Program

Airbus A220-300 di Air France in fase di salita dopo il decollo con carrello di atterraggio ancora esteso contro un cielo azzurro limpido. Aereo utilizzato per molti voli a breve raggio ed occasionalmente tra Milano e Parigi

Written by

Alex Achille

in

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A long time ago I was too a young boy with a big dream. As far back as I can go in my memories I always desired and wanted to become a pilot. Life didn’t go in that direction for me, the closest I got to that dream was becoming a cabin crew and flying solo during my PPL training. However I hope that, unlike me, many of you will be able to realize that dream. An opportunity to jumpstart a career in this sector comes from Air France that, as it regularly does, has opened recruiting for its pilot cadet program.

Air France’s Cadet Program: An Opportunity To Jumpstart a Pilot Career

Cadet programs are a fantastic opportunity to get into the fast lane to becoming a commercial pilot. The only drawback is that they are rare and slots are not plentiful, making them a bit of a lottery. However if you win this lottery you truly do hit the jackpot.

Un Boeing 737 di Transavia in fase di decollo - la compagnia low cost del gruppo Air France-KLM ha finalmente raggiunto la redditività  nel 2024 con un profitto operativo di 3 milioni di euro, segnando una svolta significativa rispetto alla perdita di 97 milioni nel 2023.

A cadet program such as that of Air France will recruit applicant which might even have 0 experience in flying an aircraft whatsoever. So don’t be intimidated if you don’t know much of the ins and outs of the industry, its worth trying. What you will need, out of personal experience, is a basic knowledge of maths and physics and most of all the will to learn and study a lot.

The program is intense and there is a lot to be learnt in a short span of time. You’ll go from 0 to flying jets in only 24 months if your application is successful. Specifically you’ll have a shot at flying Air France’s or Transavia’s:

  • A220s
  • A320s
  • Boeing 737s

At the end of the program you’ll be a fully trained and prepared first officer flying in the right hand seat of the cockpit.

Application and Program Details

There isn’t a specific number of spots Air France has set out to fill with this new recruitment window. However, keep in mind that 300 pilots since its inception in 2018, therefore there aren’t that many.

Applications are open until July 15th 2025 by filling in your details on Air France’s site at this page:

https://corporate.airfrance.com/en/airline-pilot

The course will span over the duration of 24 months and will be provided by the airline’s partner schools. Also, girls don’t be intimidated, give it a shot as in 2024, the airline reports, 25% of successful applications came form women (significantly higher than the industry average).

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Alex Achille

Ex Emirates Cabin Crew and long time aviation enthusiast. I can remember loving aviation and planes since I was a very little boy. I have developed my passion into a deep knowledge of the sector and industry to offer on my sites in depth and precise analyses of what is going on. I also completed cabin crew training with Ryanair, however, I never worked for the company (more on that another time). Finally I also have taken flying lessons completing my first solo flights.