Selection process · tests · interview · simulator check

Lufthansa pilot assessment

Updated October 2026 · SET STANDARD

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In its centenary year Lufthansa is renewing its fleet faster than ever, but mainline cockpit hiring has been frozen since February 2025 and the pensions dispute with Vereinigung Cockpit is in arbitration: in 2026 the realistic doors into the Group are the European Flight Academy and ready-entry jobs at Lufthansa City Airlines, Discover and Eurowings.

Mainline Lufthansa: no external FO hiring (freeze since Feb 2025). EFA cadets: open year-round. City Airlines, Discover, Eurowings: hiring FOs and captains (Oct 2026)

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Lufthansa is Germany's flag carrier and the core of the Lufthansa Group, Europe's largest airline group by revenue (EUR 39.6bn in 2025). From its two hubs, Frankfurt and Munich, Lufthansa Airlines flies a premium network-carrier model, while the Group adds SWISS, Austrian, Brussels Airlines, ITA Airways (majority stake from 2026-27), Eurowings, Discover, Lufthansa City Airlines, Air Dolomiti, Edelweiss and Lufthansa Cargo. Founded on 6 January 1926 and refounded in 1953, Lufthansa celebrates its centenary in 2026 in the middle of deep change: the largest fleet renewal in its history (A350-1000, 787-9, 777-9, A220), the overnight closure of CityLine, a growing role for lower-cost Group airlines, and a long dispute with the pilots' union Vereinigung Cockpit over company pensions.

Key facts

Fleet	Lufthansa Airlines about 285 aircraft (mid-2026, incl. regional partners): about 184 A320 family, 6 A330-300, 12 A340-300, 31 A350-900, 8 A380, 8 747-400, about 19 747-8, 18 787-9; Group 737 aircraft (end 2025)
Orders	Group 219 firm (end 2025): 15 A350-1000, 22 A350-900, 27 787-9, 20 777-9, 7 777-8F, 40 A220-300, 30 A320neo, 18 A321neo, 40 737-8; about 45 deliveries in 2026
Bases	Lufthansa: Frankfurt and Munich hubs. City Airlines: MUC and FRA (from Feb 2026). Discover: FRA and MUC
Pilots	About 4,800 pilots under the Lufthansa Classic/Cargo collective agreement; VC represents about 5,000 pilots across Lufthansa, Cargo, Eurowings and ex-CityLine
Hiring 2026	Mainline paused; Group needs about 10 pilots per new City Airlines aircraft; VC expects about 300 Classic retirements 2026-27
Entry routes	EFA ab initio (EUR 130,000); DE FO at City Airlines (500 h CS-25 or type rating), Discover (A330 FO 1,500 h), Eurowings; fast-track FO (4,500 h)

Entry routes and requirements

European Flight Academy (EFA) ab initio ATPL, Germany

School leavers and career changers with no commercial licence (PPL/LAPL allowed, CPL holders not accepted)

Minimum age 17 at application and at course start; no published upper age limit
Abitur, Fachhochschulreife or recognised equivalent (may be submitted by course start); no minimum grade
EU, Swiss or EFTA citizenship
Valid DLR aptitude certificate with the rating required by EFA (A-D scale), not older than 2 years on the assessment day

Lufthansa Airlines (mainline, 'Lufthansa Classic') First Officer

Mainline cockpit under the Group collective agreement (Konzerntarifvertrag), FRA and MUC

No external ready-entry campaign open: cockpit hiring and captain training at Lufthansa Classic paused 'until further notice' since Feb 2025
Reported: new mainline first officers come only from the EFA pool when (and if) intakes reopen
Historically: EASA licence with frozen ATPL, MCC, Class 1, English ICAO 4+, good German (reported)

Lufthansa City Airlines Direct Entry First Officer (A220 / A320)

Licensed pilots, type-rated or experienced on other CS-25 types

EASA CPL(A)/IR(A) with ATPL theory credit and MCC, or MPL with final phase completed (ATPL(A) also accepted)
A320 or A220 type rating, or at least 500 h on CS-25 aircraft (job ads 2025-26)
Advanced UPRT (FCL.745.A)
EASA Class 1 medical

Lufthansa City Airlines Experienced FO with fast-track upgrade to Captain

Experienced first officers close to command

Minimum 4,500 h on CS-25 aircraft (Sep 2025 ad)
EASA ATPL(A); A320 type rating preferred
Class 1 medical, English ICAO 4+, EU work rights
Abitur or equivalent

Discover Airlines First Officer / Captain (A330, A320)

Licensed pilots for the Group leisure airline (FRA and MUC)

A330 FO (Jun 2026 ad): EASA ATPL(A) or MPL, ME/IR, 1,500 h total on CS-25 aircraft, A330 rating preferred not required
English ICAO 4+; German preferred, non-native speakers B2 certified (e.g. Goethe-Institut)
Abitur/Fachhochschulreife or equivalent; EU passport or equivalent rights
Able to reach the home base within 90 minutes on standby

The selection process, step by step

DLR aptitude test (EFA route)in person, computer-based
Booked and paid by the candidate (EUR 427) at the DLR test centre in Hamburg (also Milan or the SWISS assessment centre in Zurich). Covers memory, spatial ability, attention, multitasking, psychomotor tasks, English, maths, physics/technical understanding and personality questionnaires; result graded A-D and valid 2 years.
Online applicationonline
EFA applications are accepted year-round with DLR certificate, CV, ID and school reports. Ready-entry applications go to the specific airline via the Lufthansa Group careers portal or career.aero.
Lufthansa Group assessment (EFA: legacy FQ stage)in person, Hamburg (Interpersonal GmbH) or Zurich (SWISS FCAC)
Psychologist-led assessment of social skills and personality: group exercises in dynamic situations, structured interview, psychomotor check and a conversation with Group selection pilots about motivation. Paid by EFA; a fail can be retaken after 24 months.
Basic Qualification (IP-BQ, ready entry)in person, Interpersonal Hamburg (reported)
Reported for City Airlines, Discover and Eurowings: computer-based cognitive and knowledge tests, including aviation/ATPL knowledge and English, scored before invitation to the next steps.
Simulator assessment (ready entry)in person, A320 FFS (Lufthansa Aviation Training, reported)
Crew-based check with a Group selection pilot or another candidate: departure, raw-data or manual flying, engine failure, non-precision approach and go-around. Not used for EFA cadets.
Corporate Qualification / airline-fit interviewin person or video
Psychological interview plus group or discussion task (IP-CQ) and, for EFA graduates, an airline-fit interview with the hiring airline. Themes: motivation for the specific airline, conflict handling, authority gradient, self-reflection.
Medical, background and contractin person
EASA Class 1 at an AeMC with drug screening, German background check (ZUP, reliability check for airport access) and document verification before a type-rating course is scheduled.

Aptitude and psychometric tests

mental arithmetic and maths
physics and technical understanding
English
memory
spatial orientation
attention and concentration

DLR (German Aerospace Center) test centre Hamburg · Interpersonal GmbH, Hamburg (Group assessment, BQ/CQ) · SWISS Flight Crew Assessment Center, Zurich

Group exercise

Yes. In the Group assessment (Interpersonal or SWISS FCAC), candidates solve a dynamic team task while psychologists observe cooperation, communication and leadership; reported similarly in the ready-entry CQ.

The interview

Psychologist-led structured interview plus conversation with selection pilots; ready entry adds an airline panel (fleet or training captain plus HR, reported)

motivation for the specific Group airline
teamwork and social skills
handling conflict and authority
self-reflection and learning from mistakes
safety culture and SOP discipline
knowledge of the Group, fleet plans and labour context

Typical questions to prepare

Why do you want to fly for the Lufthansa Group?
Why this specific airline (City Airlines, Discover or Eurowings) rather than Lufthansa Classic?
What do you know about the Lufthansa Group structure?
What is Lufthansa City Airlines and why was it created?
What happened to Lufthansa CityLine?
What is the dispute between Lufthansa and Vereinigung Cockpit about?

The simulator assessment

Device	Airbus A320 FFS (reported; also used for City Airlines A220 candidates)
Where	Lufthansa Aviation Training centres (Frankfurt, Munich or Berlin), reported
Typical profile	Briefing, departure, manual or raw-data segment, engine failure after V1, non-precision approach, go-around and debrief (reported, general terms)

Language and after selection

English B2 (EFA) or ICAO Level 4+ (ready entry). German: not required for EFA Germany training; required B2 for EFA Switzerland and C1 at SWISS; Discover prefers German and asks non-native speakers for B2; City Airlines lists English only; Eurowings promotion programme requires fluent German.

EFA: about 24 months to frozen ATPL (CPL/IR, MEP, MCC), then Group matching and type rating (A320 family or A220 at City Airlines). Ready entry: type rating and line training at the hiring airline, bases FRA and MUC for Lufthansa, City Airlines and Discover.

Common reasons candidates fail

Underestimating the DLR maths, physics and English modules and getting a C or D grade
Weak psychomotor or multitasking performance from no practice
Dominating or withdrawing in the Interpersonal group exercise instead of steering the team
Inconsistent answers between personality questionnaires and interview
Applying to 'Lufthansa' without knowing which Group airline is actually hiring and why you want it

Get the complete Lufthansa Assessment Guide

229 pages: company history and culture, every stage of the selection, model interview answers, technical refresher, A320 family · A330 · A340 · A350 · 747-8 · 787-9 · A380 systems and simulator assessment preparation. Updated for 2026.

Look inside the guide

Status: Preview · current to October 2026 · not on sale yet · join the waiting list

About this guide

Format: PDF (bookmarked, iPad-optimised)
Language: English
Edition: Ed 2026 · Revision 1.0
Current to: October 2026
Pages: 229
Status: Preview · not on sale yet
Licence: Personal, single user · see licence terms
Updates: Update policy to be announced before sales open
Simulator stage: Covered as reported by candidates and public sources

Independent publication. Facts in this overview are labelled “reported” when they come from candidate reports rather than official sources — see the editorial standards. Notify me about this guide · See it in the catalogue

Practice questions: company knowledge

Interview practice drawn from public sources; the answers are not an FAQ about the guide.

When was the first Luft Hansa founded?

6 January 1926, from a merger of Deutscher Aero Lloyd and Junkers Luftverkehr

When did today's Lufthansa resume flight operations after the war?

1955 (company refounded in 1953)

What are Lufthansa Airlines' two hubs?

Frankfurt (FRA) and Munich (MUC)

Who is CEO of the Lufthansa Group?

Carsten Spohr

Who is CEO of Lufthansa Airlines?

Jens Ritter (since April 2022)

Who is CFO of the Lufthansa Group?

Till Streichert

Preparation guides

Pilot Aptitude Tests: What They Measure and How to Practise Pilot Assessment Guide: How Airline Selection Works and How to Prepare Pilot Group Exercise: How to Show Real Crew Behaviour Pilot Interview Questions: How to Prepare Competency and Technical Answers Pilot Personality Questionnaire: Honesty, Consistency and Crew Fit Pilot Simulator Assessment: What to Expect and How to Prepare Pilot Technical Interview: Key Topics and How to Explain Them

Other airline assessments

Main sources

https://www.european-flight-academy.com/en/faq
https://www.european-flight-academy.com/en/costs-and-financing-pilot-training
https://www.european-flight-academy.com/en/requirements-and-selection-process-training-switzerland
https://www.lufthansa-aviation-training.com/web/european-flight-academy/auswahlprozess
https://www.lufthansa-aviation-training.com/web/european-flight-academy/locations

SET STANDARD is an independent training publisher, not affiliated with Lufthansa. Information compiled from public sources and candidate reports; always confirm with the airline’s official careers page.