Flight Training: Canada vs Australia

[Squawked]

Hi everyone,

I'm a permanent resident of Canada and an Australian citizen. I'm looking into getting my CPL with the hopes of eventually working for an airline.

I was wondering if anyone has any experience or advice on which country would be the easiest/cheapest to do the training?

I'm also wondering which country would have the most job opportunities after training, if anyone has any thoughts on where would be easier to find a job after training, that would be great.

Thanks!
EDIT: I should add that I'm moving back to Australia to live at some point in the future, so I would be training here and then converting my licenses or just doing all my training there.

[qwe221sd]

Australian can apply e3 visa and work for us airlines

[photofly]

Working for a us airline is a function of visa and nationality and not of where you do your training.
But if working for a US carrier is a thing for you then Canadian pilot licences are very easy to convert to the equivalent FAA ones due to the Canada-USA bilateral agreement. You would have to check if there’s a USA-Australia equivalent.

EDIT: I had a quick look and there’s a bilateral agreement USA-Australia on airworthiness, but I don’t see one on training or pilot certification. So it will be way easier to get to fly in the US If you train in Canada.

[Bede]

I remember looking into this about 20 years ago. (I have Australian citizenship through my dad even though I've never set foot in Australia.) From my recollection, Canada was better, especially for getting started in aviation. My dad told me (has Australian CPL) that the Australian training is very rigorous.

[photofly]

On a side. note, it's either Australia or New Zealand that requires prospective pilots to pass a "fit and proper" person test before they can get a licence. Which would rule out about half of the pilots who contribute to this forum :-/

[imjustlurking]

On a side. note, it's either Australia or New Zealand that requires prospective pilots to pass a "fit and proper" person test before they can get a licence. Which would rule out about half of the pilots who contribute to this forum :-/

FPP assessments are always to be made on a case-by-case basis. There is no ‘one size fits
all’ universal standard to be deemed fit and proper.
The criteria by which the Director assesses whether an applicant is fit and proper are
specified in s10 of the Act. When assessing whether a person is fit and proper the
Director must consider the person’s degree and nature of involvement in the aviation
system:
• the person's compliance history with transport safety regulatory requirements:
• the person's related experience (if any) within the transport industry:
• the person's knowledge of the applicable civil aviation system regulatory
requirements:
• any history of physical or mental health or serious behavioural problems:
• any conviction for any transport safety offence, whether or not—
o the conviction was in a New Zealand court; or
o the offence was committed before the commencement of this Act:
• any evidence that the person has committed a transport safety offence or has
contravened or failed to comply with any rule made under this Act:
• in the case where a New Zealand AOC with ANZA privileges applies, the person's
compliance with the conditions specified in section 11G(4).
• The Director shall not be confined to consideration of the matters specified above
and may take into account such other matters and evidence as may be relevant.
The Act provisions are broad and must be applied on a case-by-case basis. The Director
must consider the evidence in terms of its credibility, its relevance, its significance and its
source, all of which should be weighed against the degree and nature of the person’s
proposed involvement in the civil aviation system.

As an airline pilot in Canada, I've gone through all of this anyway.

Physical and mental health as part of my category 1 medical and a background check for convictions and safety offenses as part of my RAIC application.

[Arnie Pye]

When you go and fly overseas the Aussies are known as Austronauts. For such a laid back country, they can be a royal PITA to share a cockpit with because of it. Perhaps it is more rigorous but if/when you go to apply to Cathay/Qatar etc and they are also searching for Astronauts, you'll have a good foundation.

Transferring an Australian ATPL to a Canadian ATPL is as simple as filling in some paperwork. We just give them away to anyone who wants one.

Going Canadian to Australian requires
1. Air Law Exam,
2. Flight Test in either an aircraft or a simulator. It is next to impossible to rent a Sim in Australia as an individual. I know trainers at all the sim centres there and even though I knew people, I couldn't not convince them to rent to me for the purposes of a conversion.
3. Endless paperwork. Ask me how I know.

Going through NZ and doing a Trans-Tasman conversion is just as impractical. Yes, you can rent a plane and do it at a flight school. For me, I would have had to relearn how to fly a piston twin and relearn how to use steam gages and a fixed card ADF/VOR again. Would have been cheaper and more convenient to stick to a sim on a type I'm already qualified on.

As mentioned, having Australian citizenship gives you the right via the Australian/US Free Trade agreement to work for a US Regional carrier without any special visa requirements. This is a major advantage that you have.

[88gtst]

Hi everyone,

I'm a permanent resident of Canada and an Australian citizen. I'm looking into getting my CPL with the hopes of eventually working for an airline.

I was wondering if anyone has any experience or advice on which country would be the easiest/cheapest to do the training?

I'm also wondering which country would have the most job opportunities after training, if anyone has any thoughts on where would be easier to find a job after training, that would be great.

Thanks!

The only correct answer is do your training in Canada. Build your ATP time here flying up north and then apply with your Australian passport to work at a regional in the USA (E3 visa). Then you can either move to the USA or live in Canada and commute (easier than it sounds) and enjoy the great 1.3x exchange rate on your American income.

[RoAF-Mig21]

For me, the weather alone would make Australia the clear winner. By that, I mean I'd move there, live there work there and logically I'd try to get my license there.

[Bede]

Australian can apply e3 visa and work for us airlines

Crap. Maybe you could have told me that 20 years ago.

[qwe221sd]

Australian can apply e3 visa and work for us airlines

Crap. Maybe you could have told me that 20 years ago.

Hi
But they start hiring aussie recently because of pilot shortage not 20 years ago.