How long does it take to become an airline pilot?
Last checked November 5, 2026. General information, not flight-planning or legal advice.
After a commercial pilot certificate at the 250-hour minimum, an airline first officer needs an airline transport pilot (ATP) certificate, and logging the remaining 1,250 hours to the standard 1,500 takes about 16 to 25 months at 50 to 80 flight hours a month, by our estimate. A restricted ATP lowers the total to 750, 1,000 or 1,250 hours for military pilots and some aviation-degree graduates, and two schools that publish full zero-to-airline timelines put the whole path at as little as 2½ years and at two to four years.
This guide covers the stretch from commercial pilot to the airline cockpit. Month figures are estimates from stated inputs, not promises, and FAA hour totals are minimums. For the steps up to commercial pilot, see how long it takes to become a pilot and how long it takes to become a commercial pilot.
The timeline from commercial pilot to first officer
A pilot serving as second in command at a Part 121 airline must hold an ATP certificate and a type rating for the aircraft (14 CFR 121.436(b)). The month columns below are our arithmetic: hours still needed divided by a steady monthly pace, with no breaks. We use 50 and 80 flight hours a month as two example paces. For comparison, Hillsboro Aero Academy writes that instructors "typically accumulate 60-80 hours per month on average at busy flight schools" (its blog, April 28, 2026).
| Stage | FAA requirement | ESTIMATE at 50 flight hours a month | ESTIMATE at 80 flight hours a month |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Commercial pilot with flight instructor (CFI) certificate | 250 hours of total time for the commercial certificate (14 CFR 61.129(a)); the CFI adds no hour total and requires a commercial or ATP certificate with an instrument rating (14 CFR 61.183) | Starting point | Starting point |
| 2a. Time building to the standard ATP | 1,500 hours of total time (14 CFR 61.159(a)), so 1,250 more from 250 | 1,250 ÷ 50 = 25 months | 1,250 ÷ 80 = about 15.6 months |
| 2b. Time building to a 1,250-hour restricted ATP | Associate's degree route, or bachelor's route with 30 to 59 credit hours (14 CFR 61.160(c) and (d)), so 1,000 more from 250 | 1,000 ÷ 50 = 20 months | 1,000 ÷ 80 = 12.5 months |
| 2c. Time building to a 1,000-hour restricted ATP | Bachelor's degree route with 60 credit hours (14 CFR 61.160(b)), so 750 more from 250 | 750 ÷ 50 = 15 months | 750 ÷ 80 = about 9.4 months |
| 2d. Military restricted ATP | 750 hours of total time for graduates of U.S. military undergraduate pilot training (14 CFR 61.160(a)) | Not estimated: military pilots log this time in service, not by civilian time building | |
| 3. ATP certification training program (ATP CTP) | At least 30 hours of classroom instruction and 10 hours in a flight simulation training device, before the ATP multiengine knowledge test (14 CFR 61.156) | Not paced by flight hours. ATP Flight School publishes its course as "Six training days over approximately 8–10 calendar days for virtual students" (checked November 5, 2026) | |
| 4. ATP knowledge test and practical test | Pass both, after meeting the experience requirements (14 CFR 61.153(f) to (h)) | Not estimated: scheduling depends on test centers and examiners | |
Under 14 CFR 61.35(a)(2) and 61.153(f), the knowledge test needs the CTP graduation certificate but not the full hours, which are required before the practical test. The CTP can therefore be taken while hours are still being logged, so it overlaps step 2 rather than adding to it. A pilot who leaves a program with more than 250 hours has fewer left to log. ATP Flight School's Airline Career Pilot Program lists 282 hours of total logged time from zero experience; from there, 1,218 more hours take about 24.4 months at 50 a month and 15.2 at 80 (our arithmetic). The flight time calculator adds up logged hours as you go.
What the 1,500 hours must include
Under 14 CFR 61.159(a), the total must include several smaller totals, and any one of them can be the last to fill. The restricted ATP keeps the same list with one change: 200 hours of cross-country time instead of 500 (14 CFR 61.160(e)). A pilot with the full 1,500 hours but only 200 cross-country hours can also apply for the restricted certificate (14 CFR 61.160(f)).
| Requirement | Standard ATP (61.159(a)) | Restricted ATP (61.160) | Notes from the rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total time as a pilot | 1,500 hours | 750, 1,000 or 1,250 hours | No more than 100 hours from a simulator or training device, and only in an approved course (61.159(a)(6)) |
| Cross-country time | 500 hours | 200 hours | For the ATP, a flight counts if it goes more than 50 nautical miles straight-line from the departure point; no landing there is required (14 CFR 61.1, definition (vi)) |
| Night flight time | 100 hours | 100 hours | After 20 night full-stop landings, each extra one can replace 1 hour, up to 25 hours (61.159(b)) |
| Time in the class of airplane | 50 hours | 50 hours | Multiengine time for a multiengine rating; up to 25 hours of full flight simulator training in an approved course (61.159(a)(3)) |
| Instrument time | 75 hours | 75 hours | Up to 25 simulated hours in a device, or 50 in a Part 142 course (61.159(a)(4)) |
| Pilot in command time in airplanes | 250 hours, including 100 cross-country and 25 night | Same | Supervised second in command time performing pilot in command duties also counts (61.159(a)(5)) |
Flight instructors build pilot in command time quickly, since a certificated flight instructor "may log pilot in command flight time for all flight time while serving as the authorized instructor" (14 CFR 61.51(e)(3)). Lessons flown near the home airport, though, add total time without adding cross-country time.
Restricted ATP: who qualifies and at what hours
The restricted ATP is an ATP certificate with an airplane multiengine rating, issued with lower total time. The FAA says it "allows a pilot to serve as a co-pilot until he or she obtains the necessary 1,500 hours." The four tiers in 14 CFR 61.160:
- 750 hours, military pilots. A current or former U.S. military pilot who graduated from a U.S. Armed Forces undergraduate pilot training school and received a military pilot rating, with an honorable discharge (Form DD-214) or a record of current service (61.160(a)). Pilots removed from flying status for lack of proficiency or disciplinary action involving aircraft operations are excluded.
- 1,000 hours, bachelor's degree with an aviation major. The degree must come from an institution holding an FAA letter of authorization under 61.169, with "60 semester credit hours of aviation and aviation-related coursework" recognized by the FAA (61.160(b)).
- 1,250 hours, associate's degree with an aviation major. Same type of authorized institution, with "at least 30 semester credit hours" of recognized coursework (61.160(c)).
- 1,250 hours, bachelor's graduates with 30 to 59 credit hours. A graduate "who completes fewer than 60 semester credit hours but at least 30 credit hours" and otherwise meets the bachelor's route (61.160(d)).
Both degree routes carry a training condition. The commercial certificate and instrument rating must come from an approved Part 141 curriculum: ground training at the institution, and flight training at the institution or at a Part 141 school with a training agreement under 14 CFR 141.26 (61.160(b)(3) and (c)(3)). Training flown under Part 61 does not meet it. The FAA publishes the institutions holding a letter of authorization, with each school's degree programs; the copy we checked shows rows revised as late as September 15, 2026 (FAA list, PDF).
The certificate reads "Restricted in accordance with 14 CFR 61.167" (61.160(g)). Until the holder meets the full 61.159 experience and is 23, the holder may not act as pilot in command in Part 121 operations, or serve as second in command in Part 121 flag or supplemental operations requiring three or more pilots (61.167(b)). On age, 14 CFR 61.153(a) sets a minimum of 23 for the standard ATP and 21 for the restricted ATP.
The ATP CTP: the course before the knowledge test
An applicant for an ATP with an airplane multiengine rating must present a CTP graduation certificate before the knowledge test (14 CFR 61.153(e) and 61.156). Providers operate under Part 121, 135, 141 or 142, and the rule sets the minimums:
- 30 hours of classroom instruction. At least 8 on aerodynamics, 2 on meteorology, 14 on air carrier operations, and 6 on leadership and crew resource management (61.156(a)).
- 10 hours in a simulation device representing a multiengine turbine airplane. At least 6 must be in a Level C or higher full flight simulator (61.156(b)).
An ATP multiengine knowledge test passed after the CTP stays valid for 60 calendar months before the practical test, instead of the usual 24 (14 CFR 61.39(a)(1)). The FAA links its list of providers from its ATP training page.
Ways to build the hours
Flight instructing
Hillsboro Aero Academy's blog, ATP Flight School and Skyborne each name instructing as a way to build the hours. The instructor logs pilot in command time for the lessons given. Hillsboro Aero Academy's published estimate is that 60 to 80 hours a month "translates to reaching 1,500 hours in approximately 18-24 months," and it names location, student demand and weather among the factors. That is one school's claim, not a national average.
Second in command time at a Part 135 operator
Under 14 CFR 61.159(c), a commercial pilot employed by a Part 135 operator may log second in command time toward the ATP total, but only inside a professional development program approved under 14 CFR 135.99, with the captain certifying the logbook. This time cannot be logged as pilot in command and does not count toward the 250-hour pilot in command requirement.
Other flying
Hillsboro Aero Academy also names banner towing, aerial surveying and pipeline patrol as paid flying that can be combined with instructing. Any flight as a pilot adds total time, but only qualifying time fills the cross-country, night, instrument and multiengine totals.
A pilot who finishes a commercial course may leave with a different total than 250 hours, so the gap to 1,500 can differ from the main table. The commercial guide covers how course hours and total time are counted: how long it takes to become a commercial pilot. What the hours cost is in the pilot training cost guide.
Why "zero to airline" timelines differ
Two examples of published whole-path claims, checked November 5, 2026, not promises and not a ranking:
- ATP Flight School. Its Airline Career Pilot Program page lists 9 months from zero experience through the CFI certificates, says graduates can "meet airline hiring minimums in about 18–24 months" while instructing, and says a pilot can "Reach an airline pilot job in as little as 2½ years."
- Skyborne Airline Academy. Its US timeline page says "it takes around two to four years," with about 14 months of training to the CFI plus "an additional 15 months to build the 1,500 flight hours."
Neither page states graduates' hours at the end of training. From an assumed 250 hours, Skyborne's 15 months would mean 1,250 ÷ 15 = about 83 hours a month (our arithmetic). The claims differ for these reasons:
- The starting point. Credit for solo time or a private certificate shortens a program.
- Full-time training. Both claims describe full-time programs.
- The finish line. Some claims end at minimum hours and others at a job, and meeting a minimum is not being hired.
- The ATP tier. A 1,000-hour restricted ATP needs 500 fewer hours than the standard ATP.
- The monthly pace. At 50 hours a month, 1,250 hours take about 9 months longer than at 80.
Medical certificate
An ATP holder needs at least a second-class medical certificate to serve as second in command in most Part 121 operations, and a first-class certificate to act as pilot in command (14 CFR 61.23(a)). Aviation medical examiners are listed on the FAA's medical certification page.
What to ask a flight school before you start
These questions help compare career programs on time. Part 141 school locations are listed by state in the flight school directory.
- Does your degree program hold an FAA letter of authorization for the restricted ATP? Check the answer against the FAA's list.
- Is the commercial and instrument training done in a Part 141 curriculum tied to the degree? The degree routes depend on it.
- How many total hours do students hold when they finish your program? That sets how many are left to log.
- How many flight hours a month do your instructors log, by season? Ask for the slow months as well as the busy ones.
- How do instructors build cross-country and multiengine time? These totals can fill more slowly than the overall total.
- Where and when is the ATP CTP taken? Ask whether it is part of the program or arranged separately.
- If you publish a zero-to-airline time frame, what does it measure? Ask whether it ends at minimum hours or at a job, and what share of students finish within it.