Originally Posted by
Revenant
As for ATP, I want to offer one comment: although they may be licensed under both parts 61 and 141, ATP DOES NOT operate any actual programs under part 141. I found this out when I asked about veterans benefits. They allow no usage of or access to veterans benefits, since the VA only funds 141 programs and ATP does only part 61 instruction. That immediately and permanently knocked them off of my list.
For clarity, there is no "licensing" under part 61. Anyone can operate a flight school under part 61, there is no FAA oversight on that, you just follow the rules in part 61 and 91.
A 141 operator does need FAA certification. Merely holding a 141 certificate does nothing for students, but it's something schools can claim in their advertising to sound important.
You are correct that GI Bill flight training benefits may only be used for specific part 141 training programs (ie IR, CPL, CFI, ATP, type ratings, etc).
Originally Posted by
Revenant
I hasten to add that I'm not implying anything about the quality of ATP programs -- only that they do it all under 61, and they're a NO-GO for veterans with benefits.
141 inherently does little or nothing for quality, it's mostly just a paperwork drill. In fact, 141 programs are so inflexible that it rarely makes economic sense to do 141, unless you stand to gain some sort of benefits tied to 141 by law (ie GI Bill, R-ATP mins).