Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom
EGTK · LELH
Leading Edge Aviation
- ATO GBR.ATO.0503 · UK CAAVerified
- ATO E-ATO-327 · AESA (Spain) — Leading Edge Aviation, S.L.Verified
- Jet2
Oxford airline academy founded in 2018, with a second campus at Alhama de Murcia in Spain where students fly their early phases in good weather. Its integrated LEAP course costs £124,000 including a BSc degree and accommodation (or €117,000 trained mainly in Spain), and students can choose a UK CAA licence, an EASA licence or both. It is a launch partner of Jet2's funded Jet2FlightPath programme.
ICAO
EGTK
Runway
01/19
Length
1,526 m
Elevation
270 ft
- Roots since
- 2018
- Aircraft
- 34
- Programmes
- 5
- From
- €8k
Overview
Regulatory approval
ATO GBR.ATO.0503
ATO E-ATO-327
UK CAA, AESA (Spain) — Leading Edge Aviation, S.L. — EASA Part-FCL
Information completeness
92%
11 of 12 topics documented
Verification coverage
19%
4 verified · 17 school · 0 unconfirmed
Student review score
None yet
Only verified students can review. We never write reviews ourselves.
These measure how much is documented — not how good the school is.
Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Andy McFarlane
Head of Training
Stephen Rees
Ownership & campus
Private company. The only person with significant control listed at Companies House is Oxford Aviation Training Solutions (25–50% of voting rights).
In numbers
Who says what. Where sources disagree we show each figure side by side.
Graduate employment
99% of graduates in airline jobs within three months (2025)
Stated by the school via AFM; no method published.
Training programmes
5 programmes documented from the school's own pages.
LEAP Integrated (UK, with BSc)
UK students starting from zero who want an airline licence and a degree.
- 1Ground schoolAbout 28 weeksOxford: 13 subjects, 750+ hours
- 2Foundation flyingAbout 26 weeksAlhama de Murcia: 130.3 h on DA40, PA28 and DA42, ending with the multi-engine CPL test
- 3Advanced flyingAbout 13 weeksOxford: multi-engine IR (27.5 h DA42 + 30.5 h simulator) and advanced UPRT (4 h on the Slingsby Firefly)
- 4APS MCC3 weeksOxford: 40 h on an A320 FTD
You finish with
- UK CAA CPL(A) with ME/IR (EASA as an option)
- ATPL theory credit (frozen ATPL)
- APS MCC certificate
- BSc in Air Transport Management (with Buckinghamshire New University)
Training covers
- Night rating
- IR
- MEP
- Advanced UPRT
- APS MCC
- BSc degree
Timetable: Courses start every month, occasionally twice; places can be reserved up to 12 months ahead.
Entry requirements
- Age
- 18 or over
- Right to study
- UK passport or settled status
- Education
- Five GCSEs at grade 4 or above, including Maths, English and a science
- English
- ICAO level 5
- Medical
- EASA Class 1 (UK and EASA for the dual licence), three months before start
- Selection
- Online aptitude tests, then an assessment day in Oxford; £150 fee, credited to the deposit if successful
The school targets about 18 months; it says current students report 20–24 months. Flight hours are aircraft hours across the phases; simulator hours include the IR simulator time and the A320 APS MCC.
School's pageAircraft fleet
34 aircraft in the fleet, according to the source below. Counts are not a guarantee of daily availability.
- Diamond DA4013
Single engine · 4 seats · 8 at Oxford, 5 at Alhama; Garmin G1000
- Diamond DA429
Twin engine · 4 seats · 8 at Oxford, 1 at Alhama; Garmin G1000
- Piper PA-286
Single engine · 4 seats · Alhama
- Piper Archer DX4
Single engine · 4 seats · Alhama: Garmin G1000 NXi; first delivered June 2026, listed as coming soon
- Slingsby T67 Firefly2
Single engine · 2 seats · Oxford: UPRT
- Single engine 25
- Multi engine 9
Diamond
DA40
4 seats · 8 at Oxford, 5 at Alhama; Garmin G1000
Diamond
DA42
4 seats · 8 at Oxford, 1 at Alhama; Garmin G1000
Piper
PA-28
4 seats · Alhama
Slingsby
T67 Firefly
2 seats · Oxford: UPRT
Piper
Archer DX
4 seats · Alhama: Garmin G1000 NXi; first delivered June 2026, listed as coming soon
Simulators
2 DA42 FNPT II simulators (Oxford) · MPS Airbus A320 FTD-1 (Oxford)
Airfield & campus
Runway data from OurAirports — unconfirmed until checked against the national AIP.
London Oxford Airport
Oxford campus: ground school, multi-engine IR, UPRT, APS MCC and simulator centre (two DA42 FNPT II and an A320 FTD)
- ICAO
- EGTK
- Elevation
- 270 ft
- Runway
- 01/19
- Length × width
- 1,526 × 30 m
- Surface
- Asphalt
Alhama De Murcia Airfield
Alhama de Murcia, Spain: foundation flying to CPL; ground school and IR on the Spanish version of the course
- ICAO
- LELH
- Elevation
- 669 ft
Oxford campus
Three-floor training building, simulator centre of over 9,000 sq ft in Hangar 18, airside operations building
Alhama campus
Exclusive training use of the airfield, with operations building, apron and hangar
Student accommodation on campus
Included in both integrated courses: student residences in Oxford and Kidlington, and in Spain near Alhama de Murcia. Modular ground-school students can add 28 weeks of accommodation for £8,750.
Airspeed House, London Oxford Airport, Kidlington, Oxfordshire OX5 1RA, United Kingdom
Costs & financing
Published starting investment
From £8,250
APS MCC. Integrated LEAP from £124,000 (UK) or €117,000 (Spain).
Not published — ask in writing
- Exact programme price
- Accommodation and meals
- Exam and licence fees
- Extra flying hours
- Resits and retests
- Payment schedule and refunds
Financing: UK students on the degree course can use student tuition loans (up to £19,070) and means-tested maintenance loans. A part-funded programme in 2026 offered 16 places with a three-year instructor bond; applications closed in February 2026.
Airline connections
Formal: announced by the airline or Airbus. Reported: terms unknown. No school can guarantee a job.
Jet2
Jet2FlightPath · Since 2025
Fully funded by Jet2; Leading Edge was a launch training partner and was reselected for 2026 with 20 more cadets. Jet2's CEO is quoted in the announcements.
Aurigny
Aurigny × Norse Atlantic UK pathway · Since August 2025
Graduates fly the ATR 72 at Aurigny, then the Boeing 787 at Norse Atlantic UK.
TUI
Tagged cadets
Quotes from TUI's pilot manager appear on the school's page; first candidates expected summer 2026.
Loganair
Tagged cadet programme · Since June 2026
History
Every milestone with its own source and status.
Oct 2018
Founded
Leading Edge Aviation was incorporated in October 2018 at London Oxford Airport.
VerifiedCompanies House · Leading EdgeSept 2022
Alhama base
A fair-weather base opened at Alhama de Murcia, Spain.
School reportedLeading EdgeMar 2024
Integrated course in Spain
EASA integrated course trained mainly in Spain announced; first course in September 2024.
School reportedLeading Edge2025
Jet2FlightPath launch partner
Selected as a launch training partner for Jet2's funded cadet programme.
School reportedLeading Edge · NationalWorld2026
Piper Archer DX order
Agreement with Piper for new Archer DX trainers for Alhama.
VerifiedPiper
Check before you pay
What the public sources don't settle — and the questions to put to the school in writing.
Things that don't line up
Not necessarily a problem — but worth asking about in writing.
Dual-licence surcharge
The licensing page gives a £6,500 surcharge for the UK integrated course, but the single and dual prices differ by £8,000; similar gaps appear for the modular courses.
Spain payment plan
The single-licence instalments add up to €116,000, against a stated price of €117,000.
Fleet
The fleet page lists the Archer DX as coming soon while Piper says the first was delivered in June 2026; the school says 4 aircraft and Piper 10. Elixir aircraft added at Alhama in 2025 don't appear on the current fleet page.
Address and phone
The CAA lists 'Airways House' and a different phone number; the website and Companies House give Airspeed House.
Ask before you pay
0 of 6 answered
Student reviews
No reviews yet. Trained here? Rate instructors, aircraft, scheduling, ground school, housing and value. Reviews are marked “verified student” only after we check evidence of training.
28 sources
Last checked 2 Nov 2026. Something wrong or out of date?
- 01Leading Edge — LEAP integrated pilot trainingschool website
- 02Leading Edge — LEAP integrated training in Spainschool website
- 03Leading Edge — Modular pilot trainingschool website
- 04Leading Edge — APS MCCschool website
- 05Leading Edge — Our fleetschool website
- 06Leading Edge — Contactschool website
- 07Leading Edge — Oxford campusschool website
- 08Leading Edge — Alhama campusschool website
- 09Companies House — Leading Edge Aviation Limitedreference db
- 10Leading Edge — Aboutschool website
- 11Leading Edge — Fair-weather base in Spainschool website · 2022-09-01
- 12Leading Edge — Integrated fATPL course in Spainschool website · 2024-03-16
- 13Leading Edge — 20 new Jet2FlightPath cadetsschool website · 2026-02-17
- 14NationalWorld — Jet2 announces fully funded pilot training programmepress · 2025
- 15Piper — Piper increases its European footprint with Leading Edge Aviationpartner announcement · 2026-07-20
- 16AFM — Leading Edge welcomes 15 cadets into LEAP-076press · 2026-08-25
- 17AFM — Leading Edge reports 99% graduate employment in 2025press · 2026-01-13
- 18AFM — Leading Edge welcomes 20 student pilots in April 2026press · 2026-04-13
- 19AFM — Leading Edge welcomes 13 integrated students in July 2026press · 2026-07-27
- 20Leading Edge — UK CAA and EASA licensingschool website · 2026-03-02
- 21UK CAA — Standards Document 31 (v222): approved training organisationsregulator · 2026-10-31
- 22AESA — Approved Training Organisations (ATO) listregulator · 2026-10
- 23AFM — Leading Edge welcomes Aurigny and Norse Atlantic UKpress · 2025-08-22
- 24Leading Edge — TUIschool website · 2026-07-30
- 25Leading Edge — Tagging programme with Loganairschool website · 2026-06-01
- 26Leading Edge — Funded fATPL and FI programmeschool website
- 27Leading Edge — BSc in Air Transport Managementschool website
- 28Leading Edge — Skills assessmentschool website
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