Pilote de ligne F/H

The Air France selection, as candidates tell it

What candidates report on forums (Aeronet, Pilot Jobs Network) and what the employer publishes, summarised by ForAllPilots. It is not the official process: it changes from one campaign to the next, always check the posting.

Reliability of the reports : high

The stages

1. Online application (CV and cover letter in French; TOEIC of at least 850, less than 2 years old, for the experienced-pilot track, no longer required of cadets since the 2026 intake, who take an English test built into PSY0). Cadets: the campaign usually opens around June, followed by the PSY0 online pre-selection; experienced pilots have had no PSY0 since around 2020 according to candidates.
2. PSY0 (cadets only): a ranked competitive exam with no pass mark per test, according to candidate reports from 2023-2026; only the top-ranked candidates (historically a few hundred places) are invited to PSY1. It also includes a TOEIC/TOEFL-style English test (listening, reading, speaking) and a multiple-choice aviation knowledge quiz at BIA level.
3. PSY1: one day at the ENAC (École nationale de l'aviation civile, Toulouse), around 80 candidates per experienced-pilot session according to accounts from 2024-2026; report at around 8:30 (cadets) or 10:00 (experienced pilots), room lists posted, roll call, then 4 blocks (2 in the morning, 2 in the afternoon) on PC with keyboard and mouse, except the psychomotor test with two joysticks. Finishes around 16:30. No breaks between exercises, only the instructions (reading time limited to a few minutes) and a short countdown.
4. PSY1 result: unlike PSY0, you must clear an eligibility threshold in each aptitude (a very good score does not make up for a very weak one); candidates are placed on a main or reserve list. The answer sometimes comes within a few days, sometimes after several months depending on needs.
5. PSY2 at the Air France selection department (Roissy area): two questionnaires (personality and behavioural profile) on arrival, group exercises scored on a grid by an observing panel, then an individual interview with a company pilot and a psychologist.
6. Experienced-pilot track: the board may send some candidates to the simulator after PSY2 (A320, raw-data flying); final decision by the board, then class 1 medical.
7. Reported timelines (experienced pilots, 2024-2025): application in October, PSY1 in December, PSY2 in April, result in July. Each phase passed remains valid for 2 years; a telephone debrief is offered after a PSY2 failure.

The aptitude tests

• PSY0 cadets 2026 (one candidate): odd or even, sliding shapes, cubes, word boxes, long numerical 2-back memory, 3D objects, marbles, Airways (managing a flow of arrows), calculation grids, shapes and colours, long psychomotor test and general knowledge. The list changes from one year to the next.
• PSY1 cadets, order described in 2024 by two consistent candidates. Morning: maths (30 questions in 35 min, a few multiple-choice, the rest free entry); new-version tangram on a 4x4 grid where you enter the number of each shape, zeros included (24 plates); attention (3 series of 5 grids, 3 min each, digits then d/b/p/q-type letters); comprehension of 10 short popular-science texts in 20 min; angles (9 options, up to 4 correct answers); EFG (35 questions in 30 min); gauges; two series of 10 cube nets (20 min each).
• PSY1 cadets, afternoon (2024): new two-part memory test, first sequences of 4 to 9 digits to recall in reverse within 3 to 4 seconds, then simple calculations compared with a target value, with the previous calculation (1-back) or with the one before that (2-back); Raven's matrices (30 in 30 min); mental arithmetic 1 to 4 (10 calculations per series); finally the psychomotor test. No personality questionnaire that day.
• PSY1 experienced pilots (2024-2026 sessions, several consistent accounts): tangram (24 plates in about 10 min), EFG, two series of 10 cube nets (Latin letters then runes, 20 min each, no going back), gauges (old-style dials, often around 60 questions in 6 min, absent from a June 2026 session), object location test (TRO), cars in sequential rotation (40 questions, about 5 s per rotation and 8 s to answer), Raven (about 30 in 30 min), attention (grids of 8 rows by 16 columns, negative marking announced), mental arithmetic 1-3-2-4 back to back without a break, then psychomotor. No maths, no texts and no n-back for experienced pilots.
• Mental arithmetic as described in 2025-2026: CM1 and CM3 free entry (CM3 = short chains of equations A, B, C with large numbers and multiplications), CM2 = choose the smallest interval, CM4 = intervals; several candidates found it easier and less rushed than on training websites.
• ENAC psychomotor test (2024-2026): joystick calibration, then practice phases and scored phases that successively add the 4 gauges, cross tracking (right joystick), letter acknowledgement (3 letters, on the keyboard; keyboard arrow keys since 2026) and mental arithmetic. Successive weightings reported: 25% each, then 40/40 calculation and letters, then 40/40 calculation and gauges. Several gauges sometimes move at the same time and the calculations disappear very quickly.
• Raven's matrices: almost unanimously described as much harder than in training; many successful candidates say they answered only 2 or 5 plates with confidence. The truck driver test has disappeared from the experienced-pilot PSY1 since 2025.

The technical part

• Little technical content in PSY2: the interview covers your background, the consistency of your choices, motivation, strengths and areas for improvement with concrete examples; you are asked whether you prepared.
• Candidates describe a panel scoring on a standardised grid throughout the group exercises and the interview; the ICAO competencies are frequently referred to.
• Experienced-pilot track: manual flying without automation in the simulator, knowledge of standard procedures and callouts.

Candidates' tips

• Alternate between two training platforms (the versions on the day differ in graphics and timing) to avoid becoming over-conditioned to a single presentation; some candidates did more than 1,000 sessions.
• Read every instruction in full and use all the reading time: small differences from training (units, answer order changing mid-exercise, values to remember from the gauge demonstration onwards) are costly.
• Tangram: count angles rather than filled squares; check that the shapes add up to 16 on the 4x4 grid (cadets).
• Raven and EFG: skip incomprehensible plates quickly (going back is possible on EFG); do not get discouraged, the result depends on the whole battery.
• Psychomotor: candidates contradict each other on strategy (some focused entirely on gauges, cross and letters, neglecting the calculations, and passed); practise when tired, at the end of the day.
• For PSY0, aim for at least class 7 across the board in training according to several candidates, since selection is a ranking.
• PSY2: do some genuine self-reflection (why a pilot, why this airline), prepare examples from your life; several candidates recommend supervised preparation (through an association or paid), others consider it unnecessary. You can request your PSY1/PSY2 results under the right of access to personal data (reply in about 3 months according to one candidate).
• Two failures at PSY1 or two deferrals at PSY2 close the selection to you: only sit it once you are ready.

Our exercises to prepare

• Air France - ENAC → (FR)
• Le calcul mental (FR)
• Le Tangram (FR)
• L'attention soutenue (FR)
• Les angles (FR)
• L'EFG (FR)
• Les compteurs (FR)
• Le patron de cube (FR)
• Mémoire de travail 1 (FR)
• Mémoire de travail 2 (FR)
• Les matrices (FR)
• Les voitures (FR)
• Le multitâche (FR)