EASA ATPL to FAA
 

Hi all,

First of all apologies if this is not the correct place for this post.

I am a 25 year old Portuguese national currently living in the UK. I fly for a major low cost airline and have around 2,500 hours as a First Officer on the A320 Family. My current licence is an Austrocontrol (Austria) EASA ATPL Licence. My girlfriend (soon to be wife) is Portuguese-American and has a US Passport. We both would love to move to the US but the whole process for me sounds so confusing and complicated.. It would be fantastic if someone could offer some guidance on the steps I have to go through in order to just be able to apply to an American airline.

Best regards.

To convert your current license to an FAA ATP is not too difficult. It just costs some money. Get a foreign license verification, then do an ATP CTP course for about 5 K. Thereafter you can take the written ATP followed by an ATP checkride. Note that you will not be able to do the checkride in an A320 as you don’t have an FAA type rating. They will not accept your EASA type. So you either pay for an FAA type rating or just do the checkride in a Seneca. Additionally look at what is required to land a job in the US. Especially total times, TPIC, checkairman, Sim instructor and volunteer work- just to name a few.They look for a really different profile than the one that is required to get a good job in Europe. One big box to tick on your application will be a 4-year degree. Below I quoted a reply to someone in a similar position as you...


My thoughts on this, since I also did the move from EASA land to the US: The fastest way for you to get competitive for a Major would be joining a Regional ASAP. The reason behind that is that you could upgrade after 1000 hours of 121 and start building Jet PIC way faster than staying in Easy Jet. If you stay in Easy Jet it looks like you need another 3/4 years as an FO and then another 1/2 years as a Captain to get some PIC time. My guess is that you can get easily hired by a Major within 3 years after flying for a Regional. You would be at around 4000 TT and 1000 TPIC. Way better than coming to the US in six years with no actual US 121 experience. If you want to look at the Locos like Spirit and Frontier I guess your total time right now is not enough to get an interview. Some Regionals will also help/ pay for the ATP/CTP course and your ATP Checkride if you need to convert your license to an FAA ATP.
Best of luck and get the process for the Green Card started as it takes at least six months until you have it. [img]/images/statusicon/user_online.gif[/img] [img]/images/buttons/report.gif[/img]

Sunrig, thank you so much for your reply.
Looks slightly more straightforward than I though. Here's another question.. Do you (or anyone) know if I can go through the process while maintaining my EASA ATPL and flying for my current airline in the UK? Just so I don't find myself suddenly without a job in case something goes wrong..
Abouth the 4-year degree, I haven't got one.. Through Oxford Aviation Academy we got the equivalent of a 2-year degree through a partnership with a University in the UK. I guess that's something, right?
It would be great if there's a way of converting my A320 Type Rating to an FAA A320 Type Rating but not sure if there's a way of doing that..

Perhaps the rules have changed but I also did the conversion. Completed my ATP and Type in the 737 sim via an type rating course in Dallas.
Possibly get in contact with PanAm or Flight Safety International in Miami...they might be able to give additional advice.
Admittedly, there was a price but not too expensive.

good luck,
Lifter

Hi Lifter, thanks for sharing.
Did you convert your 737 Type Rating or had to go through the whole Type Rating course in the US?

it was an abbreviated course...but the difference between FAA a EASA is that you get a full type rating in the sim, no aircraft bounces...

Great stuff. Thanks!!

No, I don’t think the rules have changed. What I was trying to say was, that you will need to do a type rating course if you want to do the checkride in “your” aircraft. I did the same- found a shortened type rating course with Pan Am in MIA. Was just 3 days of ground school and 2 SIMs. But still costs more than the Seneca checkride. I’m happy I did it that way because then you already have a good type rating on your FAA certificate which might be helpful to get a call.

As far as I know you can also do your ATP checkride during your type rating for a Regional airline as long as you have the coursework completed.
Fly for a Regional airline for a year while you figure out where you really want to work long term.

Yes you can absolutely do it that way. I did the same. Even after the conversion you will still have your EASA license independently.
For a legacy job you absolutely need to have a 4 year degree. But with your 2 year degree I’m sure you can finish a 4 year degree online pretty fast. You will also get credits for the FAA ATP. Unfortunately nothing for the EASA license.