Non-European License Conversions

For once we allow ourselves to cross the European borders and tell something about the rest of the world, just for culture

Every state in the world has its own aeronautical authority, however the regulations are not extremely different, first of all because they must still comply with international standards (ICAO = International Civil Aviation Organization) to enjoy the “freedom of the air of the Chicago Convention” (you will find information in one of the next tutorials) and then because not everyone has the know-how to draft a very technical and complex regulation from scratch.

Everyone therefore tries to standardize with others and be part of one of the 4 large families.

The 4 macro groups

FAA

The first group in the world is certainly the so-called “FAA standard” (which takes its name from the American Federal Aviation Administration) which is evidently used in the United States but is taken up in many other states (all of Latin America for example and Canada).

EASA

The second group is the EASA one, that is, the European one which groups together all the member states of the Union as well as other neighboring states that have agreed to participate in this standard (even in the United Arab Emirates for example the standard is very similar to the EASA one despite having their own specific regulation).

OTHER

The rest of the world applies specific national standards.

Conversions from US Licenses

Returning to licenses, we have already said that a license obtained in Italy or in another EASA member state is valid in all the national territories of these nations, however, if you obtained a license for example in the USA, Canada or Argentina, to fly with European aircraft you will have to convert your title.

Small aside: with an American license it is not forbidden to fly in Europe, however you will only be able to pilot aircraft registered with American nationality – the so-called November marked, because the first letter from the “license plate” is always “N”.

So it is not a question of “territory” in which you fly but of “means” on which I am flying. Obviously, however, to work in a European company I will need to have an EASA license, because an operator – for example an Italian one – can only manage European aircraft.

So if you got your license in the United States, because you thought it was expensive, because you have relatives there, because you wanted to gain experience abroad, because your “cousin” has a school in Florida, remember two simple things:

1. the first is that the theoretical exams for professional licenses are not valid and therefore you will have to retake them all from the beginning (even if the theoretical course can sometimes be reduced and you will not have to repeat 350 hours of classroom);
2. the second is that for the practical part instead there are credits, discounts, however the expensive part of the licenses, which are the type ratings, you will have to re-obtain them from scratch.

Pros and cons

So before deciding to go and get a qualification that is not valid in Europe, carefully evaluate your motivations:

• if you do it to save money: don’t do it, because the conversion will cost you a lot anyway.
• if you do it to gain experience abroad, learn a language well, stay away from home: OK! We approve
• if you do it to then stay and work in that country: carefully evaluate whether residence permits are necessary
• if you do it because they told you that you learn more in schools outside Europe: that is absolutely not true!

Have you decided to get a license abroad?

That said, if you have considered emigrating temporarily, get reliable information about the school where you will go to do your experience, try not to pay for overly expensive training packages in advance, find out about the certifications they have, go and visit the school before enrolling and talk to other students who have already been there.

In conclusion we can put a milestone on this issue: in Europe flying costs more than in any other country not because companies speculate on this sector, on the contrary, the bureaucracy and the cost of organizations is so high that it is not always possible to apply economies of scale to keep the cost of flight hours as low as elsewhere.

Look at the organizational chart that a flight school must have in the next tutorials dedicated to organizations and compare it to a foreign flight school where one person holds up an entire organization… perhaps we should also ask ourselves what level of security there may be.

If you have any questions or curiosities fill out the info request form.