Occupation
Airline pilot
Airline pilots fly passengers and cargo on scheduled or charter services, operating as part of a two-person or larger flight crew. Most of the job is planning, checking, briefing, and monitoring systems rather than hand-flying, and every phase follows standard operating procedures and checklists. Licensing, recurrent training, and medical certification are continuous requirements set by the aviation authority.
Also known as: Commercial pilot · First officer · Captain · Airline transport pilot
Occupation content
Part of Supply chain, transport and logistics
What the work involves
- Review the flight plan, weather, notices, fuel figures, and aircraft technical log.
- Brief the crew on the route, threats, and expected departure and arrival procedures.
- Complete pre-flight inspections and cockpit setup with the other pilot.
- Fly or monitor the aircraft through each phase, cross-checking instruments and callouts.
- Communicate with air traffic control, cabin crew, and company operations.
- Handle abnormalities and diversions by checklist and record technical defects after landing.
How people commonly enter
- An integrated airline transport pilot training programme at an approved flight training organisation.
- A modular route building licences and ratings progressively while working, often including flight instruction to accumulate experience.
- A university or college aviation degree that incorporates commercial flight training.
- A military flying background converted to civil licences and ratings.
- An airline cadet or sponsored programme entered through open selection.
Typical training: Varies by employer or jurisdiction
Licensing: Regulated in most jurisdictions — confirm the current requirement with the regulator in your province, state, or country.
Typical work context
Involves travel · Shift work · High responsibility · Team based · Fast paced
Related interests
Realistic (hands-on) · Investigative (analytical) · Conventional (organizing)
Related aptitude preparation
These are preparation links only. They do not measure eligibility for this occupation and no score here qualifies or disqualifies anyone.
Skills to practise
Practice suites
Related learning
Family-level learning links for Supply chain, transport and logistics.
Official sources
Labour-market facts such as pay and employment projections are not reproduced here. Open an official source below for figures, with its own geography and reference period.
- US BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook — Airline and Commercial Pilots · United States
Link checked
- O*NET OnLine — occupation quick search: airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers · International
Link checked
- UK National Careers Service — Explore careers · United Kingdom
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Labour-market context (not part of exploration match)
This is broad family-level context for Supply chain, transport and logistics in Canada, not a figure for Airline pilot. It does not affect matching scores and is not an eligibility determination.
This is a broad Supply chain, transport and logistics family. Explore the official profile for the chosen occupation; entry education and training can differ within the family.
Canada Job Bank Career Planning · Canada · Current official profile; consult source for its release period
Supply chain, transport and logistics: education pathways
Some roles in Supply chain, transport and logistics may be regulated. Confirm whether the specific role requires registration, certification, or a jurisdiction-specific licence.
Canada Job Bank Career Planning · Canada · Current official profile; consult source for its release period
Supply chain, transport and logistics: licensing
Find jobs
These are live, user-controlled searches on each source's own site for “ Airline pilot”. Novus Learn does not fetch, store, or rank these results, and job availability never changes your exploration match score.
- Search Canada Job Bank · Canada
- Search USAJOBS · United States federal
- Search EURES · European Union / EEA
- Search Indeed · International (choose location on Indeed)