For experienced pilots on the move

Changing airlines is a heading change. Plan it like one.

Practical preparation for experienced pilots moving to a new airline or region, applying as direct-entry captains, or facing a technical systems interview. From Captain Adi, a current A320 captain who has passed selection at three airlines across Asia and the Middle East.

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20+years flying airliners
3airline selections passed
4types: F50, 737, 777, A320
2018direct-entry captain
Who it's for

Three situations, one move

Changing airline or region

You're experienced, but a new airline's selection after years at one company can still be a shock. Prepare like it's a checkride.

Applying as a direct-entry captain

They know you can fly. The interview is about how you lead, how you decide and how you handle the hard parts of the job.

Facing a technical interview

Systems questions, an authority oral exam, "what does this light mean?". You need understanding, not memorised answers.

Captain Adi's story

My upgrade was frozen. So I made my own way to the left seat.

I didn't start in aviation. I was a chemical engineer, applying to airlines again and again. The call came after my 10th application.

Years later, my command upgrade was due. Then my airline froze upgrades after events no one there could control. Instead of waiting, I moved to a new airline in a new region, flying the Boeing 777 in the Middle East. That selection was the toughest of my career, heavy on technical systems. In 2018 I joined my current airline as a direct-entry captain.

Over 20+ years I've flown the Fokker 50, Boeing 737, Boeing 777 and Airbus A320, and passed selection at three airlines across Asia and the Middle East.

I've never sat on an interview panel. What I share is what I learned as a candidate, three times, and as a pilot who changed airlines to reach the left seat.

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Heading Change heading-bug logo
The Airline Move Playbook

What the Playbook covers

A self-study guide you can work through around your roster. Founding pre-order open now: $49 for the first 30 pilots, then $79.

01

Learning your systems

A method for technical interviews and authority oral exams: draw it, go button by button, ask what you lose. Method only, no exam content.

02

Answers from real events

Worked decision and leadership examples, plus a story bank that turns your own experience into clear, honest answers.

03

The direct-entry captain interview

How to answer questions about leading newer pilots, flying demanding approaches and your start date.

04

Wait or move?

A decision worksheet for weighing an upgrade queue against a new airline, with the seniority, contract and family questions to answer first.

05

Before you apply

A checklist covering published minimums, logbook, licence conversion, medical, notice period and training bonds.

06

Your study plan

A planner that fits around a flying roster: short sessions on duty days, longer ones on days off.

See the Playbook Pre-order for $49

Why it's different

Between question banks and expensive coaching

Question banks

Thousands of questions, but little help understanding the aircraft. Memorised answers fall apart at the follow-up, and some sources are unreliable.

One-to-one coaching

It can be valuable, but it's often priced per session and depends on someone else's diary, which is hard to fit around a roster.

Heading Change

  • A method to really learn your systems
  • Real events turned into honest answers
  • Decision tools for the move itself
  • One price, self-paced, no confidential material
Read first

Articles

Career decisions

Wait for command or move airlines? How to decide

A practical way for first officers to weigh waiting for an upgrade against moving airline or applying as a direct-entry captain, from a captain whose own upgrade was frozen.

Technical interviews

How to prepare for a technical systems interview (a method, not a question bank)

A step-by-step method for experienced pilots facing a technical systems interview or an authority oral exam. No leaked questions, just a way to really know your aircraft.

Direct-entry captain

What a direct-entry captain interview is really testing

The three questions I was asked as a direct-entry captain candidate, what I think they were testing, and how to prepare answers from your own experience.

Questions

Who is this for?

Experienced first officers and captains changing airline or region, pilots looking at direct-entry captain jobs, and anyone facing a technical systems interview. It is not designed for cadet or ab-initio selection.

Does it include real interview questions from specific airlines?

No. Heading Change contains no airline's interview questions, manuals, training material or exam content. It teaches a way to prepare, using public knowledge and real experience.

Have you sat on an interview panel?

No, and I don't claim to have. Everything here comes from the candidate's side: three airline selections, an authority oral systems exam, and a move to the left seat as a direct-entry captain.

Is Heading Change connected to an airline?

No. It is independent and not affiliated with or endorsed by any airline or aviation authority.

How is this different from a question bank?

A question bank helps you check what you know. The Playbook is about understanding your aircraft well enough to answer questions you have never seen, and about telling your own experience clearly.

Can I buy the Playbook now?

Founding pre-orders are open now: $49 for the first 30 pilots, then $79. The Playbook is delivered as a PDF on Sunday 15 November 2026, with a full refund any time before delivery.