✈️ What Airlines Really Look for in Your Logbook

(Spoiler: It’s not how cool your TikTok is)

You’ve been flying, logging hours, checking boxes — but when it comes time to apply to the airlines, what actually matters in that logbook? What Airlines Really Look for in Your Logbook?

Let’s break it down with a healthy mix of honesty and hangar-talk.

1. Total Time Matters… But Context is King

Yes, you need the hours. But two pilots with 200 hours each might have very different experiences. Airlines look beyond the total:

• Cross-country time

• Night flying

• IFR exposure

• Diverse airspace and unfamiliar destinations

If all your hours were in the same circuit at your home base… well, they’ll notice.

2. Diversity of Experience

Airlines love a pilot who’s seen a bit of the world — or at least different runways. Logging landings at various airfields, in different countries, at different elevations and runway types? That shows confidence, competence, and adaptability.

Flying from North Weald to Cannes to Granada and back again beats 100 hours in the local traffic pattern. Every time.

3. Decision Making > Dead Reckoning

Airlines don’t just want someone who can steer. They want someone who can think. If your logbook shows flights that required real planning — like international VFR, weather-diverted trips, or mountain airports — that says you’ve had to make decisions in the real world.

Those “3-day flyouts” with weather changes and unfamiliar ATC? Gold.

4. Solo Flights Count for More Than You Think

Confidence is key. Logbooks with solo cross-countries show you’re not just along for the ride. You’re PIC. You’re making the calls. And airlines love that.

5. They Can Smell Gaps

Large gaps between flights, or weird spikes in hours over short periods, raise eyebrows. Consistency shows discipline and commitment.

6. Notes & Detail Help Tell the Story

If you’ve got room in your digital or paper logbook, note down unusual or challenging flights. These make great talking points during interviews.

• “Night VFR into unfamiliar airfield”

• “Cross-border flight with customs coordination”

• “Diversion due to NOTAMs”

• "What happened on a flight that was unexpected?"

Show you were thinking like a professional pilot, even before you had the uniform.

7. It’s Not Just the Logbook

Yes, your hours matter. But so does how you talk about them. Can you explain what you learned? How you grew? That’s what airlines want — pilots with experience and reflection.

✈️ Final Thought

Your logbook is your story — and airlines are reading between the lines. Make sure it says more than “flew left-hand circuits a lot.” Show them you’ve chased weather fronts, crossed borders, and made decisions that mattered.

Want a logbook airlines will actually be impressed by? Come fly with us at hour-building.com — and build hours that mean something.