Pilot's Licenses

Disclaimer

• Information contained in this post are not based on any specific ICAO member states' regulations. Instead I will be covering a generic approach to Pilots' Licences and detailing the most common licensing structure.
• All the licenses discussed in this article apply to both Fixed wing aeroplanes and helicopters, but I will be mainly focusing on fixed wing aeroplanes here.
• There are additional licenses that will not be covered here and instead will be covered in separate articles, including but not limited to, Student Pilots License (SPL), Multi-crew Pilots License (MPL), recreational/sports pilots licenses.
• This article will not discuss Ratings. Ratings will be discussed in a separate article.

Licenses

Private Pilot License (PPL)

"The privileges of the holder of a PPL are to act, but not for remuneration, as pilot-in-command or copilot of any aircraft engaged in non-revenue flights." - ICAO Compliant State's Part-FCL

A PPL is generally the most basic license that an pilot can earn. A PPL gives the holder the privilege to fly a rental or owned aircraft. Generally a people obtain a PPL for many different reasons. For example professionals who find it more time efficient to fly from point A to point B instead of driving on their daily commute may aim to for a PPL, it could also be a target for hobbyist and weekend pilots. But most commonly a PPL is a stepping stone to aspiring career pilots working their way up towards a CPL.

It must be noted that a PPL allows a pilot to fly an airplane for no remuneration. I cannot stress this enough as in most countries if a pilot has been proven to have taken any form of payment for a specific flight that they operated this could be grounds for license suspension or revocation.

Commercial Pilot License (CPL)

"The privileges of the holder of a CPL are to: 

• Exercise all the privileges of the holder of a PPL; 
• act as pilot-in-command or co-pilot of any aircraft engaged in operations other than commercial air transportation;
• act as pilot-in-command in commercial air transportation of any single-pilot aircraft;
• act as co-pilot in commercial air transportation."  - ICAO Compliant State's Part-FCL

A CPL is the next step up the ladder. A CPL gives the pilot all privileges of a PPL and, in addition, it allows them to earn remuneration for their services. 

Examples of possible jobs that a CPL holder can be hired for are Banner Towing, Agricultural Pilot, skydive pilot, Flight Instructor (subject to earning a Flight instructor Rating- to be discussed in a separate article), and a co-pilot (Second In Command) in a multi-pilot aircraft with an airline.

The main restriction on a CPL holder is that they may not act as a Pilot In Command on a Multi-Pilot aircraft.

Airline Transport Pilot License (ATPL)

"The privileges of the holder of an ATPL based on CPL are to: 

• exercise all the privileges of the holder of a PPL, a CPL and an Instrument Rating (IR);
• act as pilot-in-command or co-pilot in aircraft engaged in commercial air transportation. 

When the holder of an ATPL has previously held only a Multi-crew Pilots licence (MPL), the privileges of the licence shall be restricted to multi-pilot operations unless the holder has met the requirements for the operation of single pilot aircrafts. Any such limitations shall be endorsed on the licence."  - ICAO Compliant State's Part-FCL

An ATPL is the final goal for any airline pilot, or pilots aspiring to join an airline. An ATPL mainly allows the pilot to operate as a Pilot In Command (Captain) on a Multi-Pilot aircraft (e.g. Airbus A320, Boeing 737, Embraer 175, etc..).

There are multiple flight experience requirements to earn an ATPL, including specific night flying time, Instrument flying time, etc... These requirements vary from one country to another, but the one main similarity across almost all ICAO member countries is the requirement to have a total experiience of at least 1500 flying hours.

An ATPL may legally allow a pilot to act as a pilot in command on a airliner but, in reality, it is almost impossible to find a major airline that would allow a pilot to act as a pilot in command/captain with those minimum requirements.

Frozen ATPL (also known as fATPL)

The main thing you need to understand is that the term "Frozen ATPL", as per regulations, does not exist. A "Frozen ATPL" is not a license. A "Frozen ATPL" is a term used to indicate that a pilot holds a CPL and has successfully completed the ATPL theoretical training and examinations. So technically a person with a "Frozen ATPL" is a CPL holder and is only allowed to exercise the privileges of a CPL.

A "Frozen ATPL" is termed "Frozen" because the at that point, the CPL holder would still need to complete the required flight hours to earn an ATPL. Once the required hours are completed, a pilot would complete a skills test (a practical exam / test) to earn their ATPL.

A frozen ATPL is usually the desired goal for pilots aiming to move on to flying for an airline. And hence, when you are looking for flight training courses you may see that most training providers market their Frozen ATPL courses.

To learn more about the different courses available to earn your license click here