United pilot interview: what United publishes and how to prepare

Short answer: For Aviate, United's pilot career program, United lists a selection process with "a panel interview," a "personality and cultural fit inventory" and "a technical skill interview." For direct-entry first officers, United publishes the minimums (1,500 hours, an unrestricted ATP, a first-class medical) but not the interview steps. Prepare "tell me about a time" stories around the qualities United names, "model character, think creatively, deliver results and foster teamwork," plus technical questions for the stage you are at.

Last checked November 1, 2026.

What United publishes about pilot hiring

United's pilot careers page lists four paths: United Aviate Academy, the Aviate program, First Officer and the United Military Pilot Program. It publishes different amounts about each.

One participant's account of the Aviate interview

United's Aviate site has a post, dated October 11, 2024, in which one Aviate participant describes his own interview. It is one person's experience, published by United, not a description of every interview. In it:

• After the application, United invited him to "virtually take the Leadership Inventory Assessment."
• He was then invited to an in-person interview at United's Flight Training Center in Denver.
• "The first part was a behavioral interview with five 'tell me about a time' questions. The second part was a technical portion of the interview that was tailored toward what part of flight training you were in."
• His tips included dressing professionally and having a logbook that is "cleaned up and tabbed."

United's published first officer minimums

From United's First Officer page:

• A minimum of 1,500 hours of total time. United prefers 1,000 hours of fixed-wing turbine time and at least 100 hours in the last 12 months.
• An unrestricted FAA ATP certificate with airplane multiengine class rating.
• A current FAA first-class medical certificate.
• An FCC Restricted Radiotelephone Operator Permit.
• High school diploma or GED (a bachelor's degree is preferred).
• A current passport with at least six months of validity at the time of employment.
• The legal right to work in the US without sponsorship, and the ability to travel to all countries United serves.
• A Yellow Fever vaccination card, presented on your first day.

Aviate in brief

United calls Aviate its "pilot career development program." United lists several entry points, including participating universities and flight schools, building hours at a partner flight school or Part 135 operator, and flying for an Aviate-participating United Express carrier (United lists CommuteAir, GoJet, Mesa and SkyWest). Participants then build experience before transitioning to United. For United Express pilots, United lists "1,600 PIC (Pilot in Command) hours" with a participating carrier. Aviate also limits checkride failures: "no more than two Certified Regulatory Checkride failures, and no more than three total checkride failures." See how to talk about a checkride failure.

What United looks for, in its own words

• "The ability to model character, think creatively, deliver results and foster teamwork."
• "Core4 service behaviors: Safe, Caring, Dependable and Efficient."
• For military pilots: "United values your airmanship, leadership and citizenship."

What United does not publish

• The direct-entry first officer interview steps. United's FO page lists requirements, not the process.
• Its interview questions. The participant's post mentions five TMAAT questions but does not list them.
• A simulator evaluation. None of the United or Aviate pages we checked lists one.
• What the Leadership Inventory or personality inventory measures. Not published.

General guidance, not United's words: prepare five or more strong TMAAT stories, technical answers pitched at your current level, and a clear "Why United?" built on United's own words.

Questions to practice for United

From the Fourstripe question bank, written by us. United does not publish its questions.

• Tell me about a time good CRM made the difference on a flight. (foster teamwork)
• Tell me about a time you had to make a decision without all the information you wanted. (think creatively)
• Tell me about a time you did the right thing when no one would have known otherwise. (model character)
• Tell me about a time you led a team through something hard. (deliver results)
• Tell me about a time you went above and beyond for a passenger or customer. (Caring)
• Tell me about a time you had to learn something quickly.
• Why do you want to fly for United? (how to answer)
• What do you know about United?
• In a TAF, what do TEMPO, BECMG and PROB30 mean? (technical questions)
• What's a stabilized approach, and when do you go around?

Example answer

Example answer, written by us. It is not a real applicant's story. Question: "Tell me about a time good CRM made the difference on a flight."

"I was a CFI on a cross-country with a commercial student in a Seminole. On the descent into a towered field the student was flying, I was working the radios, and the tower changed our runway at about eight miles out. The student started to rush the new setup and got behind.

I said, 'I'll take the radios and the checklist, you just fly the airplane and slow to 100 knots.' Then I asked tower for a wider pattern so we had time. We briefed the new runway together, ran the checklist out loud and landed normally.

What I took from it: when the plan changes, split the work out loud first. I now brief who does what for a runway change before we start the descent, so it's already agreed when it happens."

Why it works for United: it shows teamwork and a clear result, keeps safety first, and the lesson is a habit. It's also at the level an Aviate candidate would really have.

United prep checklist

• Decide your route (direct-entry FO, Aviate, Military Pilot Program) and read that page on United's own site.
• Clean up and tab your logbook.
• Prepare stories for United's named qualities: character, creative thinking, results, teamwork.
• Review technical topics for where you are now, from private pilot to type-rated.
• Prepare an honest, short account of any checkride failure.
• Practice out loud with follow-ups.

How competitive is it?

According to FAPA's pilot hiring history, United hired 1,317 pilots in 2024 and 1,574 in 2025. United's Aviate site says it intends "to hire more than 10,000 pilots in the next decade."

Practice this on Fourstripe. Pick United and a panel captain asks TMAAT, about-you, technical and scenario questions out loud, follows up on what you said, and scores every answer. 7-day trial, then from $149 a week. Start a practice interview

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