Two ways of organising the same licences
Both paths are aiming at a CPL, an instrument rating, and the airline-transport theory exams. The ATPL itself comes later, when the experience requirements are met. Until then, people say the exams are frozen. That is industry language. Your licence will say CPL, plus the ratings you hold.
An integrated course is one course at an approved training organisation, approved as a whole. You follow that syllabus, usually full time, from the start of the course to the tests at the end. A modular path buys the pieces separately. You can pause between them. You can also discover that an hour you flew cheaply does not count towards the next module.
What changes in practice
Integrated training asks for a continuous block of time and, usually, a large commitment of money or a finance agreement up front. The school’s timetable is the plan. If the aircraft, the weather, or you fall behind, the calendar moves, because the syllabus still has to be finished.
Modular training lets you keep another job between blocks. It also means you are the person stitching the modules together: which organisation does the theory, which one does the instrument rating, and which hours an examiner will accept. A lower headline price on one module can be followed by another module that will not take those hours.
What does not change
You still need a medical that matches professional flying, theory exams, flight tests, and an organisation the authority accepts for each piece. The cost guide on this site is about how to read a quote. It does not say which path is cheaper. A school that promises one of them is always cheaper is selling, not describing the rule.
Finance, if you use it, is a second contract. The training approval does not say what happens to the loan if you stop. Ask that before you sign either document.
Questions that separate the two offers
- Is this one approved course, or a list of modules you must book separately?
- Which hours are included, and which hours can be refused at the next stage?
- What is the timetable, and what happens to it when aircraft or weather stop the flying?
- Who is the contracting party, and what is the refund rule if you leave?
- Is a multi-crew course included, and is a type rating included?
Sources
Checked on 17 October 2026. Rules are amended, so read the current text before you rely on a figure.
- EASA, Easy Access Rules for Aircrew (Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011), Part-FCL: https://www.easa.europa.eu/en/document-library/easy-access-rules/online-publications/easy-access-rules-aircrew-regulation-eu-no