EASA Pilot CV Template: What European Airlines Expect

If you are applying to airlines in Europe, your pilot CV needs to follow EASA conventions. European recruiters expect a specific format, and getting it wrong signals that you don't understand the regulatory environment you will be working in.

This guide covers exactly what an EASA pilot CV should include and how to format it.

The EASA Hours Format

The single biggest difference between an EASA pilot CV and other regions is how flight hours are presented. EASA uses the FCL.050 format:

P1 (Pilot in Command): Hours where you were the legal commander
PICUS (Pilot in Command Under Supervision): Command hours logged under supervision, common for new captains
P2 (Co-pilot): Hours as Second in Command / First Officer
Dual: Training hours with an instructor
Total time: Sum of all flying time
Multi-engine: Time on multi-engine aircraft
Single-engine: Time on single-engine aircraft
IFR: Instrument flight time
Night: Night flying hours

Break these down by aircraft type. A recruiter at Ryanair wants to see your B737 hours separately from your total.

Licence and Ratings

For EASA applications, your licence block should include:

Licence type: ATPL(A), CPL(A), or MPL
Licence number and issuing state
Type ratings: Each aircraft type with issue date
ELP (English Language Proficiency): Level (4, 5, or 6) and expiry date
FRTOL: Flight Radiotelephony Operator's Licence date
MCC: Multi-Crew Cooperation course completion date
UPRT: Upset Prevention and Recovery Training date

ELP is particularly important. Level 4 must be renewed, so showing your expiry date demonstrates you are current. Level 6 is lifetime and signals strong English proficiency.

What European Airlines Look For

Different European airlines have different priorities, but common themes include:

Low-cost carriers (Ryanair, easyJet, Wizz Air): High volume of hours, especially on type. Quick turnaround experience. Base flexibility.

Flag carriers (Lufthansa, Air France, KLM, British Airways): Long-haul experience valued. Professional presentation. Language skills beyond English can be an advantage.

Regional operators (CityJet, Air Nostrum, Flybe successor companies): Turboprop experience. Short-field operations. Multi-type experience can be valuable.

Layout and Design Conventions

EASA pilot CVs typically follow these conventions:

A4 page size (210mm x 297mm)
No photo (European convention, unlike Gulf or Asia)
Conservative colour palette: Navy and gold is the most common professional combination
One page preferred, two pages acceptable for experienced captains
Reverse chronological order for employment history

The ATS Factor

Airlines like Ryanair and easyJet process thousands of applications. They use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) that parse CVs automatically. A two-column branded layout may look professional but can confuse these systems.

Best practice: have a branded version for direct submissions and recruiter emails, and an ATS-compatible single-column version for online portals.

Build Your EASA Pilot CV

FlightDeck CV has a dedicated EASA template with all the fields above built in. Select your region, fill in your details, and download both branded and ATS versions.

Build my EASA pilot CV