Leadership on the flight deck sets those apart from the general pilot population—and there are ways to build your capabilities in this regard with greater assumption of authority along the way. We spoke with longtime FLYING contributor Pia Bergqvist about her journey from a well-rounded general aviation pilot to the left seat of a regional airliner—and, most recently, to the right seat of a Boeing 737 for a major U.S. airline. Her experience illuminates one way to accomplish the goal of becoming an airline pilot, and in this Q&A she shares her tips for being prepared when the opportunity knocks:

FLYING Magazine (FM): How did you know you wanted to pursue a career as a professional pilot, and specifically as an airline pilot?

Pia Bergqvist (PB): I grew up in Sweden and dreamed of being a pilot since I was 8 years old. Unfortunately, the challenge in researching the path to get there in the era before the internet, along with the fact that I was a woman desiring a very male-dominated profession, made my dream job seem unattainable.

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I finally began pursuing my career in my late 20s. One of the first things I did was to become a member of Women in Aviation International, and I attended the conference in 2000. I remember visiting several airline booths and being blown away by all the women who were airline pilots. At that time, the one that stood out the most was FedEx, where I met a Swedish pilot who described her job. She flew all over the world, had lots of time off, and made enough money to live by the beach.

FM: When you committed to the pursuit, how did you identify the airline(s) you wanted to aim for? How did that choice affect your plans for training and what you needed to have on your résumé before applying?

PB: At the time when I started flying, I would have needed a significant amount of time flying as captain of a twin-turbine aircraft, preferably at a regional airline, before applying for a position with a major airline. While FedEx was my top choice, other attractive choices included United, American, Continental, and UPS, as they were all flying internationally.

I based my pick of potential regionals on advice from flight instructors at the flight school where I received all of my primary training—Justice Aviation in Santa Monica, California. The regional airlines of choice on the West Coast were SkyWest, Mesa, and American Eagle. I applied for my first airline job on September 10, 2001. As a result of the tragic events that followed the next day [on 9/11], I shelved my airline dream for nearly two decades.

FM: How did you build time before applying? What were the minimums when you made the application 20 years ago versus five years ago?

PB: When I first started flying, pilots were getting hired by regional airlines with as little as 1,000 hours of total time and a hundred hours of twin time. The industry was booming. I built most of my flight time through flight instruction before sending in my application with about 900 hours [under] my belt. I also built some twin time by flying from Torrance, California, to Nantucket, Massachusetts, and back in a Beechcraft Duchess.

At that time, the interview process was much more rigorous than it is today, and applicants had to have the written ATP test completed. Regionals also conducted cognitive tests and simulator evaluations.

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Today, the FAA requires airline pilots to have at least 1,500 hours (or 1,000 through a limited number of approved flight training programs) and to complete an ATP-CTP training program before they can take the controls of an airliner—a change that resulted from the Colgan Air crash in 2009. Most airlines these days, whether regional or major, only require an application

and an interview. Whereas the major airlines used to require turbine PIC [pilot in command] time, some pilots are now hired with just a few hundred hours as a first officer.

FM: What tips do you have for that first interview?

PB: The most difficult part of getting hired with a major airline is actually getting to the interview stage. Stay in touch with the captains and flight instructors that you fly with. They will be a great resource when it comes time to apply as you will need several letters of recommendation. Meeting with the hiring teams at job fairs, meet-and-greets, and aviation conferences are also a good way to get your foot in the door.

There are many things that go into a successful interview. Make it clear that you really want to be there. Go in with a positive attitude. Dress well and make sure you’re groomed to look the part. Professional interview coaching companies, such as Emerald Coast, Cage Marshall Consulting, Raven Career Development, and Career Takeoff, are almost a must for a successful airline pilot interview. They will provide practice scenarios, targeted to your airline of choice, that will develop the confidence you need as you sit down to get grilled.

FM: How did initial training at the regional go? What tips would you give for a prospective pilot to help them prep for success in training?

PB: The initial training at the regional level can be very challenging. There are many new concepts that go into flying in a professional crew environment versus flying in general aviation.

Get familiar with the flows, callouts, and other procedures that are written into the company’s standard operating procedures [SOPs] manual as early as possible. The only way to learn these procedures is by constant repetition, so having a “paper tiger”—basically a printed version of the flight deck layout—and using it for chair flying is a very good way to get ready. Understand that it can take hundreds of repetitions to learn the proper procedures to an acceptable level. Just keep going.

Practice the flows, callouts, and procedures for normal, non-normal, and emergency operations until they’re perfect. And keep practicing them during times when you’re not in simulator training or the actual airplane. Being able to immediately and accurately execute emergency procedures is critical in those rare and unexpected situations, such as an engine failure.

FM: What was upgrading to captain like?

PB: When it came time for me to move from the right seat to the left seat, it felt very much like it felt to become a flight instructor. I questioned whether I was really ready to be the one in charge of the ship.

The key to success was channeling what I had learned from the captains who I enjoyed flying with as a first officer. So, pay close attention to what the captains do to get the airplane off the gate; how they deal with challenging situations with passengers, gate agents, and rampers; what they do if there is an maintenance issue or emergency, and so on. The schoolhouse upgrade training is great, but the more experience you have seeing how the real-world operations go, the better.

The training is basically identical to the first officer training, albeit with different flows and more responsibilities. Often, captain candidates are paired with first officers through the training and check rides. Your partner can make or break you, in either seat, so do your best to find a good one.

FM: When did you know you were ready to apply for the next step, the majors?

PB: Most people in the industry consider [this to be] an unprecedented time in airline pilot hiring. Everyone I flew with, whether captains or first officers, at the regional airline was talking about moving on.

There were many first officers I flew with who moved on before I did. There were some things in my personal life that held me back, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the regional airline, [but] it was time to move on. The working conditions, destinations, pay, and retirement plans are more attractive at the majors, even with the huge pay bump we got at the regionals in 2022.

I was proud to be a regional airline captain. But now I feel like I have reached the pinnacle of my career.

FM: How did you approach that training differently, knowing what you know now?

PB: I found the training at the major airline much more relaxed. Perhaps it was because I was more prepared and ready for the hard work that is required of pilots in airline training departments. But it appeared to me that the level of respect at the major airline was higher.

At the regional level, there were hard limits on how many extra hours of training pilots could receive or how many events could be unsuccessful before they let a trainee go. As a result, the stress level was high.

From my very loosely gathered data, it appears that about 15 percent of the trainees at my regional airline were let go for one reason or another. That stressor didn’t exist at the major airline where I trained. We were made to feel very welcome and part of the family.

FM: What qualities do you think pilots need to cultivate to shine in a sea of candidates for the same role?

PB: Be professional, both in appearance and the way you handle yourself. Be prepared. Make sure you keep current on company SOPs, FARs, and instrument procedures, how to interpret weather data, and other details that you should be familiar with as a professional pilot. Build relevant flight time. Volunteer with aviation organizations to show your passion for the profession.

If you’re applying for a major airline job, go the extra mile and visit a job fair, conference, or meet-and-greet to get your name on the radar. Keep in touch with people you’ve met, and treat people with kindness and respect. Before an interview, seek help from one of several airline interview prep companies, but find a way to be yourself.

The stakes are way too high to just “wing it.”

This Q&A first appeared in the March 2024/Issue 946 of FLYING’s print edition.

The post Pro Track: Finding Your Way to an Airline Pilot Career appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The biggest barrier—one that I started to breach in the 1990s—was a lack of good information. Without the benefit of computers and the internet, it was hard to figure out how to go about getting a pilot’s certificate. In those days, research was limited to books and tiny microfiche sheets, which I could view through enormous machines at the local library in Karlshamn—my hometown of around 10,000 people.

I did have access to one close source of information, however. My aunt’s husband was a pilot. He owned a small charter business in a town about five hours away by car—an eternity by Swedish driving standards, so I rarely saw him. Interestingly, he had traveled to Florida to acquire his certificates, something that seemed unfeasible in my 18-year-old mind. Oh, if only I had been able to see beyond the barricade.

My other perceived barrier was my gender. A woman being a pilot seemed unimaginable to me at the time. Again, because of the lack of research opportunities, I had never heard of a woman flying an airplane. The two channels we had on TV never featured people like Harriet Quimby, Amelia Earhart, Bessie Coleman, Jacqueline Cochran, Lynn Rippelmeyer, or any other female trailblazer of the skies.

The Journey Begins Strangely

Instead of following my dream of flying, and without other aspirations, I ended up on a winding and somewhat-bizarre path in my early adult years.

Right out of high school, in 1989, I left Sweden to pursue my first career: I became a ski bum. I moved to Verbier, Switzerland, where I worked in a hotel bar. There, I met my former husband—a Canadian—and I moved with him to British Columbia, where I worked for four years as a tree planter and waitress while trying to figure out what I wanted to do. Eventually, I started college. I initially considered med school but decided against it. I thought I wanted to be a dental lab technician because my husband was heading for dental school. The blend of art and science seemed intriguing, and I started a program in Vancouver. But when he ended up getting accepted into the University of Southern California School of Dentistry at Los Angeles, I left the program and we moved to California.

One of my husband’s classmates put herself through dental school by working as a flight attendant for Delta Air Lines. I told her about my “impossible” dream of becoming a pilot.

“So, why aren’t you flying,” she asked. “Well, I’m a girl,” I said sheepishly. I still had never heard of a female pilot. She proceeded to tell me that Delta had female pilots. That was all I needed to hear.

I didn’t even take a demo flight. I just jumped right in. I researched all the flight schools at the local airport—Santa Monica Municipal Airport (KSMO)—and settled on the biggest one, Justice Aviation. While working full-time, I got my private certificate in about six months, quit my job at USC, and started working at the flight school.

With full focus, I breezed through my ratings. My instructor was also in pursuit of an airline career. During one lesson, he looked squarely into my eyes while giving me a very serious piece of advice.

“When it comes time to go to an interview, you need to look the part. Wear a uniform. All they should need to do to hire you is put the epaulets on your shoulders.” I took my instructor’s advice very literally and bought a Van Heusen professional pilot shirt.

Most companies in the early 2000s required 1,000 hours with 100 of them being in multiengine airplanes. I was approaching those numbers, and I sent in my application to a regional airline on September 10, 2001. Most people wouldn’t remember the exact date on which they applied for a job, but this one ended up being extraordinarily memorable.

History Throws Up a Barrier

The events of September 11 affected most people in aviation—and outside of aviation—in ways we would have never been able to predict. That day, my dreams of becoming an airline pilot were crushed alongside the World Trade Center buildings.

Needless to say, my airline application bore no fruit, and my friends who had applied and been hired lost their training dates. Those who had recently started were furloughed. I was lucky. At least I had my instructor job. And I kept the Van Heusen shirt.

Before September 11, I had no idea of the incredible careers that existed in general aviation. I found opportunities that I could have never dreamed of. Other than instructing, which I absolutely loved, I had a chance to sell and demonstrate airplanes straight out of the factory for Liberty Aerospace out of Melbourne, Florida, and Cessna Aircraft Co. in Wichita, Kansas. I’ve visited small airports all over the country and spent hundreds of hours soaring solo over mountains, deserts, oceans, and farm fields.

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I’ve been fortunate enough to own two airplanes that have allowed me to visit remote places that would have taken too much time to drive to. And through my amazing job at FLYING, I have flown a long list of airplanes, from two-seat taildraggers to jets. Best of all, I have met many amazing people along the way. I have no blood relatives on this side of the pond, but I have my aviation family. I truly love general aviation and, after more than two decades, that love has not faded.

The Shirt Still Fit

But the dream of flying for an airline kept nagging. The incessant talk of the pilot shortage and the quick upgrade times lured me to, once again, apply. I knew the Women in Aviation conference would be in Long Beach, California, in 2019, and I applied in time to have my interview at the show. The professional pilot shirt that I had bought nearly 20 years prior was still in the plastic wrapper. Ceremoniously, I unwrapped the plastic and tried it on. It fit. I interviewed with a female pilot from Phoenix, and we hit it off. To my amazement, I was hired three days later.

Now, my life is filled with the best of both civilian aviation worlds: I get to fly passengers around in a Bombardier CRJ, and I still get to fly my Mooney, write for this legendary magazine, and spend time with my GA family. If my 18-year-old self had had a crystal ball, she would have never believed the prediction.

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