Airlines Overseas
 

Hello everyone!
I just satarted working at regional but my final goal to is to work overseas. Asia or Europe or even the Middle East fine with me. I was wondering if converting the FAA license to ICAO is a worthy investment or it makes more sense to look for a job at an airline that hires pilots with the FAA certificate. Is there anyone currently working overseas that has any advice on where to start looking and what to start thinking about even that's still quite a few years from applying?
Thanks

I could be completely wrong but ICAO is not a license it's "International Civial Aviation Organization". I think what you're asking about is FAA and JAA. Like I said I could be completely wrong. But I think just having your FAA license is already stating you are part of ICAO. As far as JAA is concerned there is another website calle pprune that could help you.

ToiletDuck is correct.

The FAA license, does conform to ICAO standards, therefore is an acceptable license with carriers requiring ICAO standards certified pilots (i.e Air China/CX etc etc).

The JAA, Joint Aviation Authorities, which are somewhat supervised or should I say conforms to the/by the British (UK) CAA (Civil Aviation Authorities) is a whole different set of rules to certify airmen.

To convert your licenses from an FAA to a JAA ones, you'll pretty much have to take the exams all over and the checkrides. There are a couple centres in the US which would be more than happy to help you with that for a certain "fee" ;-). Naples Air Centre in Florida is one of those places. You're pretty much looking at 14 (or maybe 16) written tests, and two or three checkrides. Namely COMM Group B I would assume (Comm ME airplane-land), and INSTR and probably an ALTP xride (our ATP... same deal pretty much.... harder written test).

If time is something you have alot of ahead of you, I would hold off on converting my FAA to JAA - as the European Union as a whole, is coming up with a new governing authority called the EASA. As of right now EASA is only concerned with certification of airplanes flying over the skies of EU member countries, but the plan is for EASA to take over all JAA responsibilities and to pretty much say goodbye to the JAA. So stay tuned, airmen certifications are coming up....

Hope this helps!
-schone

I got my JAA licenses before I got my FAA licenses. It's a whole 'nuther ball o' wax and the written tests are a *****.

No Gleim book with all the answers. You can't bluff your way through these. You gotta know the stuff. Not to say it can't be done, but be prepared to work hard.

I cannot vouch for what Mr. Schone says above, but he seems to speak with some authority.

I do know that it is easier to convert an FAA ATP to a JAA ATP than the Commercial/ME. Or at least it was at one time.

Don't think too far ahead and if you want to work in Europe wait until that is closer in your career because rules may change.

Of course, none of this applies in Brazil and other third-world, banana-republics; they ignore international agreements. See ExcelAire/GOL thread.

Jetblaster

not yet
 

before u even think about working overseas, you need to rack up about 1500 hrs and an ATP, also if o/seas is your goal, see if you can,t get a job flying ATR`s, if you had that you would be golden in say India, most asian or mid-east co`s accept the FAA-ATP, at the moment i work for air deccan in India and they are so strapped for qualified ATR or A320 F/O`s that they have applied to the DGCA for permission to hire 28 qualified expat co-pilots. but even if they are successful you`ll have to have 500hrs on type.:)