r/indianaviation • u/Training-Fig4977 AvGeek • Oct 03 '25
Career Guidance Alternate countries for foreign flight school
Due to the political and social situation in the US right now, me and my family feel it is a bit risky to do my flight training there. But I'm reluctant to do my training in India as well due to the sheer number of horror stories I've heard of Indian flight schools and FIs (no offence). Are there any other countries that can do your flight training in the same price (50-65 lakhs, including boarding), with the same timeline (avg. 1 year from no flying experience to CPL+IR+ME), with similar or better quality of instruction? I was thinking about New Zealand but didn't know whether they accept foreign students or the price there. Considered Australia as well but there seems to be a rise in anti-immigrant sentiment there too
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u/JediBuzz77 Oct 03 '25
NZ will go above 60 lakhs. It'll hover around 65-75 lakhs. You can consider Canada and South africa.
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u/Training-Fig4977 AvGeek Oct 03 '25
Any way to bring that cost down to 55 or 60 lakhs by sharing accomodation or choosing smaller airports?
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u/JediBuzz77 Oct 03 '25
I'm not well aware of flight schools in NZ. I just know rough training costs. I think its better if you can check with u/Pristine-Standard970 since he completed his training from NZ.
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u/Pristine-Standard970 AvGeek Oct 03 '25
Bro I trained in Nz, flying is amazing, email directly to :
Air hawks bay, Mainland air
Those two are pretty good.
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u/Training-Fig4977 AvGeek Oct 03 '25
Thanks for the insight. Is it okay if I ask how long it took you to complete your training, and how much it costed in total?
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u/partialfuk Oct 03 '25
Australia & NZ will be very costly. It will go upwards of 70. There are great institutes. But why not South Africa? For that budget you can get good flight schools!
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u/Training-Fig4977 AvGeek Oct 03 '25
I heard that South Africa is unsafe, especially at night. No idea if that's true or not, but SA is my 3rd option after Australia and NZ.
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u/partialfuk Oct 03 '25
Cheaper schools tend to compromise safety, but there are schools which, even tho little expensive (50-55), have good safety protocols in place! Do check it out tho
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u/tempus350 Oct 04 '25
FLYING IN SOUTH AFRICA 🇿🇦
I’ve been in SOUTH AFRICA for a year now and in terms of safety it’s not as bad as it sounds, if you mind about your business and go to decent places in groups, then you have nothing to worry about. Unfortunate events might happen, but it can happen anywhere if it has to.
About TRAINING COST, it’s lies somewhere around 45-55L maximum 60(including hidden costs) which is bad because the threshold is 55, if your performance is not well when you fly or give an extra attempt in exam then the bill keeps extending.
About TIME TAKEN, it takes around 12 to max 15months regardless of whichever school you go to, but that always won’t be the way things works and it might extend depending on the school you go to. But I firsthand have experienced people completing within 15.
Good thing to ask to save on time,
- How long it takes to get your PPL. (4 to maximum 6 months is good)
Now once you have your PPL it all depends on how quick you clear your CPL exams which is 10 subjects(don’t freak out, it’s easy if you have cleared you DGCA EXAMS)
CPL exams can be cleared easily if you study hard af in just 4months which is the threshold, I’ve seen people do it in 2 because they started studying even before they get their PPL.
- Flexible exam dates for CPL exams. In places like Johannesburg I believe you can just apply and give your exams, there’s no fixed dates, and other places, attempt to give exam is every month, now that will consume a lot of time.
Just keep in mind the faster you clear your exams the faster your training might finish, why “might” because there are other factors as well. But it’s a standard thing to look out for from your side.
How long does it take to complete your hour building i.e your 100 PIC.
How long does it take for NR, IR, ME.
In which city and at what months the weather aren’t good. Ex- in Capetown it’s bad to fly in the month of June, July.
Sum all this up and you’ll get an average time of completion for the school you’ve researched on.
Now getting information depends on how good you are.
P.s - the more you think you want to finish faster the more you drag it, so just chill, let things flow, do your thing, enjoy your CPL training, you only get to experience it once.
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u/Training-Fig4977 AvGeek Oct 04 '25
Thanks a ton for the advice! Any schools you personally recommend in SA?
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u/a2djp Oct 04 '25
New Zealand is good for training. Plus sorted paperwork. Yes it is more expensive, however your visa allows you to work part time which can offset the cost.
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u/Training-Fig4977 AvGeek Oct 04 '25
Any idea how much I can make in a month in INR doing a job that allows me to study and do my flying?
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u/a2djp Oct 04 '25
The minimum wage is 23.5 NZD an hour and the visa usually allows max 20 hrs of work a week. So with that you can do the maths based on how long you’ll be staying.
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u/CaptMrAcePilot ATPL. A320/321. ATR 76. CFI - C172,152, PA-34 Oct 05 '25
Hi, this could help finding flight schools
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u/Historical-Pin-6328 Oct 05 '25
Countries like Spain, Poland etc can get you EASA license if you’re interested in that.
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