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Hi Capt Lim,
I am a student in one of the Flying Academies in Malaysia. News regarding the increase in fuel price shocked me as most of the local airlines are stopping or reducing pilot recruitment. My questions are:-
a. Is it better for me to unfreeze my Airline Transport Pilot License (ATPL) before joining the airlines?
b. What position do I get if I unfreeze my ATPL and join an airline?
c. Can I fly single engine aircraft such as Piper 28 to unfreeze my ATPL?
Thank you and hope to hear from you soon.
Vincent
Hello Vincent,
a. Yes, you can unfreeze your ATPL before joining any airline but if the airline is willing to accept you with your current unfrozen ATPL (CPL), then it is not necessary for you to do that.
I just wonder how you are going to unfreeze your ATPL. Do you mean that you would pay to fly the PA 28 until you get your hours to unfreeze it? If so, then it would be very costly for you.
But I believe you intent to build your hours as an instructor in a flying academy. This is also a good alternative if you are jobless because you can still keep yourself current on flying but as in answer ‘c' you should find out from DCA Malaysia whether you can unfreeze your ATPL with single engine hours. I guess it should be okay.
b. The position of a pilot with an unfrozen ATPL on joining an airline would depend on the company and also your flying hours because different airlines would have different requirements. You can become a Second Officer (SO), First Officer (FO) or Senior FO (SFO) depending on your flying experiences.
c. I am not very sure about whether you can unfreeze your ATPL with single engine hours but you should check with DCA Malaysia or surf their website to find out about this.
Regards,
FO Chang (A320) on behalf of Capt Lim
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Becoming a Pilot 
