Class 1 Pilot

Licence conversion

The stamp you buy is the career you live with.

PCAA, DGCA, EASA, FAA, GCAA, CAA Oman — none of them is a sticker you peel off. Pick the licence you hold. Read the bill, the papers, and the catch before you book a conversion course.

Pilot logbooks and licence folders on a briefing table

I hold

PCAA (Pakistan) → GCAA (UAE)

Exams
UAE Air Law (often 75%). Operator exams on top.
Flying
Skill test; some files need 8–10 hours plus FNPT. Logbook hours are audited.
Medical
New GCAA Class 1. The PCAA certificate does not travel.
Indicative cost
USD 8,000–20,000 if you pay; airlines often run it in-house.
Time
4–12 weeks once an operator files you. Months if you try it unemployed.

The catch. A UAE CPL/ATPL is usually issued with UAE employment. Validation is operator-tied and temporary. Do not convert on a tourist visa and hope.

PCAA (Pakistan) → EASA / UK

Exams
Full ATPL theory set (typically 13–14 papers). No credit for PCAA writtens.
Flying
CPL / IR / MEP skill tests. Extra hours if the logbook is thin or non-ICAO formatted.
Medical
EASA Class 1 at an AeMC. Start this before the exam bill.
Indicative cost
USD 12,000–25,000 plus idle months. Housing is the silent line.
Time
6–18 months. Theory is the long pole.

The catch. Choose the EASA NAA before you sit paper one. Hours that looked fine in Karachi can fail an EASA examiner’s audit.

PCAA (Pakistan) → FAA (United States)

Exams
Verification of authenticity, then FAA knowledge tests for the grade you want. ATP still wants 1,500 hours and ATP-CTP.
Flying
Checkride with a DPE. IR and commercial are separate unless you already hold the FAA equivalent.
Medical
FAA medical from an AME — usually first class if you are going airline.
Indicative cost
USD 4,000–15,000 depending on grade. TSA / AFSP for non-US citizens.
Time
Verification 4–12 weeks, then training weeks.

The catch. A foreign-based FAA certificate (61.75) dies if the PCAA licence dies. A standalone FAA ticket is the one that lasts.

PCAA (Pakistan) → CAA Oman

Exams
Air law / procedures as CAA Oman specifies. Confirm the current circular — it moves.
Flying
Skill test at an approved organisation. Hours must be in an acceptable logbook.
Medical
CAA Oman Class 1.
Indicative cost
Usually lower than EASA; still budget idle time and a skill test.
Time
1–4 months if files are clean.

The catch. Oman is not a back door to GCAA. You still convert again for a UAE operator.

Figures are 2026 briefing ranges, not quotes. Verification letters, TSA, security clearances, and housing move the number. Always read the authority circular and the ATO contract. Legal.

Do not convert until these are true.

  • You know which country you will actually live and work in for five years.
  • The first licence is still current. A lapsed file converts nothing.
  • Class 1 for the destination authority is booked or in hand.
  • You have a written hour-acceptance note from the receiving ATO, not a smile.
  • A Gulf conversion has an operator or ATO filing you — not a tourist visa.
  • You have not bought a type rating ‘to help the conversion’ without a job letter.
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