Ryanair Group · Captain / Commandant de bord

Captain Challenger 350-3500 - London Stansted base

Ryanair Group is collecting expressions of interest for Captain positions on the Challenger 350-3500, based at London Stansted.

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Employer: Ryanair Group
Position: Captain / Commandant de bord
Base: Londres Stansted
Aircraft: Challenger 350-3500
Pay (as pilots report it): Captain: about €169,500 to €209,000 a year; first officer: about €55,000 to €85,000 (2024-2026)
Posted: 6 March 2026

Key points

Captain position
Challenger 350-3500 aircraft
Base at London Stansted
Employer Ryanair Group
Expression of interest format

Summary written by ForAllPilots from the employer's posting. Only the official posting counts: check every condition before you apply.

Low-cost medium-haul

Ryanair at a glance

The largest airline in Europe by number of passengers, fleet and flights, with bases all over Europe.

Bases: Dublin (head office), London Stansted (largest base)
Fleet: Boeing 737-800; Boeing 737-8200 “Gamechanger”; Airbus A320

Pilot recruitment

Almost exclusively Boeing 737 fleet (737-800 and 737-8200, plus 26 Airbus A320s). Known for its “Ryanair Cadet Programme”, a type rating pathway organised with partner ATOs for young pilots holding the theoretical ATPL, in addition to recruiting pilots already experienced on the 737.

The full Ryanair guide →

Pay and conditions, as pilots report them

Figures reported by pilots, not confirmed by the airline, each one dated (last update: October 2026). For information only.

Captain: about €169,500 a year, €175,000 as line check captain (LCC), €185,000 as LTC and €209,000 as TRE (Italy, since April 2026); no seniority scale, within €2,000 a year across countries. Captains fly close to maximum hours all year and are reportedly often asked to use commander's discretion (September 2026).
First officer: about €55,000 a year to start (December 2024) and about €85,000 beyond 1,500 hours in Europe outside the UK; in the UK, about £88,500, and £91,500 in London (August 2026).
Second officer: about €35,000 a year; during line training, about €16,800 base plus €14 per flying hour after release (2024-2025).
Pay per flying hour: about €40 for a captain, €23 for a first officer, €13 for a second officer (December 2024).
Type rating paid by the candidate: about €30,000, with about €1,400 a month during line training and no guaranteed contract afterwards (2021 report).
Rosters: in Germany, 5 days on and 3 off, with no more split between early and late weeks; the pattern may extend to other countries from 2027 (September 2026).
Leave: 29 days including Christmas, as 4 blocks of 5 working days plus 8 ad hoc days; with the 5-4 roster a block gives 13 days off in a row (September 2025).
Situation: few flying hours for first officers in winter (20 to 30 hours a month from November to March, so lower pay), 75% contracts at some bases; first officer hiring continues, more than 1,000 cadets planned for the 737 MAX 10 arriving in 2027. No direct entry captains. Outlook described as positive (October 2026).
Selection: application on the website, online tests (psychometric, reasoning, logic, technical knowledge), then simulator and HR and technical interviews at headquarters (May 2024).

Reports published on pilotjobsnetwork.com

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The Ryanair Group 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

Application followed by a paid online test (a few tens of euros depending on the year), which must be passed before any invitation.
The online test includes Aon (cut-e) tests; some sessions added a timed ATPL-style multiple-choice quiz and a recorded video interview.
A single day at a simulator centre: welcome, company presentation, pre-simulator briefing.
B737-800 simulator session of about 45 minutes in pairs, alternating between pilot flying and pilot monitoring.
HR interview, technical interview of about 30 minutes on your current or previous aircraft, and an English test; answer announced within about a week.
Lauda, Buzz and Malta Air (Ryanair group): same approach, online test then HR/technical interview and simulator (737 or A320 depending on the subsidiary).
Cadet programmes (Future Flyer Academy, Gateway 1/2 via partner schools, 2026): online cut-e tests, ADEPT-15 personality questionnaire that is eliminatory and can be retaken after one month, English test and recorded videos, then an oral stage with a group exercise and an individual interview; simulator depending on the school (systematic at some, not at others).

The aptitude tests

Aon / cut-e: spatial orientation, multitasking (arrows, digits, calculations), complex hand-eye coordination control, personality questionnaire.
Numerical reasoning cited by some candidates.
Very fast ATPL multiple-choice quiz (about 20 seconds per question) in some versions of the online test.
cut-e battery described in 2026 by a Gateway candidate: complex control (tunnel), multitasking with obstacles, reaction speed, monitoring (balls), spatial orientation with NDB, deductive reasoning (sudoku-type), inductive reasoning, personality, English (sentence completion, spelling, vocabulary) and three videos.
ADEPT-15 (personality): for each item, choose between two statements and a degree of agreement; several 2026 candidates failed it once or twice before passing, with feedback citing a lack of leadership.

The technical part

B737 systems (hydraulics, anti-icing) for type-rated pilots, current aircraft for others.
Practical calculations such as a crosswind component.
Questions on CRM and cockpit leadership; at Lauda, predictive and reactive windshear.
Simulator scenario described in 2022: raw-data departure from Liverpool on a SID sent in advance, with the vertical profile and callouts to know by heart, handling (45° turns, climbs and descents at a fixed rate), position relative to a beacon, then an unexpected event (smoke, warning, closed airfield) to handle using a decision-making method (TDODAR, FORDEC) and a raw-data ILS; you are also assessed as pilot monitoring.
2022 technical interview: meteorology, aerodynamics, air law and the systems of the training aircraft (electrics, batteries), pushed into detail by the examiner.

Candidates' tips

Crew cooperation is the watchword in the simulator: as pilot monitoring, actively help your partner.
Book one or two hours of 737 simulator time before the day; many candidates recommend it.
Prepare one or two clear sentences on each aircraft system rather than encyclopaedic detail.
If you fail, a wait of about a year is imposed before reapplying.
Personality: answer consistently; French candidates say they are more often rejected at this stage, though this has not been demonstrated (conflicting views on the forum).
A justified go-around is not penalised in the simulator, quite the opposite, according to several pilots.

Our exercises to prepare

Sources read (13)

Give yourself every chance

A captain selection focuses on leadership, decision-making and crew management: prepare real situations, what you decided and why.

Expect an in-depth technical interview and a simulator session: go over abnormal procedures and the performance of your type.

Some airlines give aptitude tests to captains too: a refresher on the arithmetic and attention exercises never hurts.

Practise the aptitude tests →Over twenty exercises (multitasking, mental arithmetic, cubes, orientation, CUT E, COMPASS and DLR series), scored and tracked over time. (FR)Revise the ATPL theory →The question bank by subject, mock exams and the AI Instructor to prepare the technical test.Prepare the interview with Selection Coaching →A written mock selection interview with an AI panel (beta), technical and HR. It does not guarantee the result of a real selection.The Ryanair Group guide: recruitment, fleet, bases →What to know about the airline before you apply.

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