A training aircraft for ab initio pilot training is on a runway at sunrise.

The pilot training – your way into the cockpit

Unique in substance through the combination of theory and practice

How to learn to fly

Steps to take to obtain the broadly recognized ATPL

At the end of your training, after having passed all exams, you receive the “frozen” ATPL (Airline Transport Pilot license) certified by EASA, i. e. a CPL(A)/IR. After a total of 1,500 flying hours (500 of which in a two-person cockpit) you will be the holder of an ATP license.

It is a certificate broadly recognized throughout Europe which will give you a wide range of opportunities to join one of Lufthansa Group’s airlines or also another airline company for a cockpit job after having completed your pilot training.

We believe in the good prospects for entry into the cockpits of Lufthansa Group. After having successfully obtained your license at EFA, you can apply for available jobs with the Lufthansa Group airlines, and the airlines themselves can approach you and offer you an employment contract. If you do not receive an offer within 24 months, you will be reimbursed for 50% of the training costs. You can find further information on this on our page on the Take-off-Promise.

Training focused on quality and practical relevance

Every phase of our entire pilot training is optimized by experience and aimed at maximizing learning results. Our roots in airline operations and the still tight integration with the airlines of Lufthansa Group facilitate a pilot training that is both substantial and of practical relevance. You will benefit, for example, from our experienced theoretical instructors and flight instructors who pack a lot of practical flying experience and theoretical knowledge.

Student pilots and flight instructors fly in a training aircraft over a coastal landscape

Standardized and high-quality infrastructure

Our fleet of training aircraft is modern, state-of the-art, and above all standardized. This enables you to fully concentrate on acquiring new capabilities in the cockpit without having to adjust to a new aircraft type every time you are in a training aircraft. At our own locations in Germany you will be trained in the DA42 aircraft, while at our partner location in Goodyear (Arizona, USA) you will enter the cockpit of a Cirrus SR20 for your first visual-flight phase. At our training location in Switzerland you will start your training in our DA40NG and will subsequently also pilot the SR20 in Goodyear before finishing your practical training in our DA42s.

Simulation training will give you access to the unique infrastructure of the simulators in our LAT training centers, a highly professional learning environment.

Three training aircraft that are used for ab initio pilot training are in a hangar

Priority access to the cockpits of Lufthansa Group

EFA trains pilots for all airlines – when it comes to filling cockpit positions within Lufthansa Group, however, pilots who received their training at the European Flight Academy will, as a rule, be given priority consideration.

After having successfully obtained your license at EFA, the Lufthansa Group airlines can approach you and offer you an employment contract. Furthermore, you can apply for available cockpits jobs within Lufthansa Group on the Campus+ platform. You can find more information on the Take-off-Promise here.

Two people stand in front of an airplane and talk.

Sustainability as the guiding principle

The European Flight Academy intends to contribute its part to sustainable flying and has therefore included this topic as a fixed component in its training. The whole training has been designed to be carbon-neutral through a combination of CO₂ avoidance and carbon offset. It is our ambitious goal for the future to reduce CO₂ emissions even more through other technical and procedural adjustments.