FLYING Magazine
Fewer things are more detrimental to a pilot’s training than a check ride delay. Waiting weeks, sometimes even months, for the practical test is frustrating and can greatly increase the cost of the certificate acquisition, as you need to keep flying on a regular basis to maintain proficiency.
ATP Flight School on Tuesday announced it has reduced the check ride wait time for its clients, resulting in a quicker completion of its Airline Career Pilot Program.
According to a news release, ATP has decreased waiting time for its clients from as much as two weeks to near-immediate availability. This enabled the school to remove scheduling time added to the program in 2023 when there was a nationwide shortage of available DPEs.
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“The curriculum, training standards, and included flight time remain unchanged,” ATP said in the release. “The shorter timeline reflects reduced waiting and greater scheduling efficiency.”
School officials said students who enter the program with zero flight experience can complete the program in as little as nine months. Those who enter with solo requirements completed can finish in seven, and candidates who enter the program with a private pilot certificate (PPL) can finish in as little as six.
ATP has been providing airline-style accelerated flight training for more than 40 years, operating 87 flight schools around the country with a total fleet of 658 aircraft.
“From greater fleet availability with the addition of 150 factory-new planes in the last two years to developing exclusive software that reduces check ride delays, we have been on a mission to eliminate friction at every step of becoming an airline pilot,” said Michael Arnold, vice president of marketing for ATP Flight School. “ATP students do not leave their training to chance. They trust a proven, no-compromise airline career solution that is backed by the resources only the nation’s largest flight school can provide to get them established in their careers as quickly as possible.”
Opportunity to Try the Program
For the student who would like a no-commitment way to experience the difference the school’s resources can make in their training, ATP has introduced the Career Track Discovery Program.
The program is a four-week course that allows aspiring pilots to log 23 hours toward their PPL with no obligation to enroll in the full career program.