Comparing Training Packages

Two packages with a similar headline price can be very different once you look inside. This guide describes how to put packages on an equal footing before you compare them. This site does not publish a ranking of schools by price, and a lower price is not evidence of lower or higher quality.

Step 1: Make sure the end point is the same

Check that both packages lead to the same licence or rating, from the same authority. A "private pilot package" might end at the licence test in one school and stop short of it in another. Confirm:

• The exact qualification named, and the authority that issues it.
• Whether the practical test and its fee are inside the package.
• Whether theory exams, ground school and exam fees are included.

Step 2: Check the hour assumption

Most packages are built on an assumed number of flight hours. Often this is close to the regulatory minimum for that licence. Authorities set minimums as a floor, not an average. For example, the United States rule for a private certificate states a minimum figure and the researched summary notes most students need more (United States page); the UK CAA lists its own figure on its UK page sources.

Ask the school:

• How many flight hours is the quoted price based on?
• What is the hourly rate for hours beyond that?
• Does the price assume only flight hours, or also simulator time and briefings?

Then read Regulatory Minimum vs Actual Completion Hours.

Step 3: Break down the inclusions

Use a simple table for each package and fill it in from written documents.

See What Training Prices Include and Wet vs Dry Aircraft Rental Rates for the most commonly misunderstood lines.

Step 4: Currency, tax and date

• Which currency is the price in, and can it change?
• Does it include value-added tax or sales tax?
• When was the price list issued, and until when is it valid?
• Is there a fuel surcharge clause?

Do not convert currencies in your head and compare. Fix a date, use the same exchange source, and keep a record of it. Our country pages show amounts in the currency a source gives, and we do not state prices for schools unless a source supports them.

Step 5: Payment and refund terms

Read these as carefully as the price:

• Is payment upfront, in instalments, or pay-as-you-go?
• Is any money held in a client account, or paid directly into the business?
• What is refundable if you stop, fail a medical or are refused a visa?
• What happens to prepaid balances if the school changes ownership or stops operating?

Use Questions to Ask Before Paying a Deposit as a checklist.

Step 6: Look beyond price

A package is also a set of practical conditions:

• How many students are sharing each aircraft and instructor?
• How are bookings made, and how are weather delays handled?
• Where would you live, and how do you reach the airfield?
• How strong is the school's approval record? See Verification explained.

Be cautious with outcome claims

Package descriptions sometimes include outcome language. Treat these as separate from the contract:

• "Guaranteed" completion times or pass rates.
• "Airline pathway" or "airline partnership" language. An advertised partnership is not guaranteed recruitment.
• Licence conversion claims. Conversion depends on the receiving authority's rules at the time; see Investigating Licence Conversion.

If a promise matters to you, ask for it in the written agreement.

Checklist

• [ ] Same end qualification, same authority
• [ ] Hours assumed, and the rate for extra hours
• [ ] All exam, test and licence fees located
• [ ] Wet or dry rental, fuel basis
• [ ] Currency, tax and validity date
• [ ] Refund and cancellation terms in writing
• [ ] Living costs and visa costs estimated separately

You can open programs and compare to start from sourced information, and read our methodology to see how listings are researched.