It can cost anywhere from £40,000 to £80,000 to train privately to become a commercial pilot.

Aer Lingus takes on about 40 direct-entry cadets each year, who then spend seven years working for the company.

Aer Lingus has a 26-year pay scale. Your salary is £23,000 for your first three to five months after qualification as you are still in training. You then move on to £33,000 as a second officer. After two years you can become a first officer and six to eight years after that you will become a captain earning a minimum of £53,000. A senior captain can earn up to £93,000.

After earning their wings, Air Corps pilots start on a salary of £17,000 as a second lieutenant. After two years they move on to lieutenant at £19,000. Four to five years after that they become a captains on £25,000 to £26,000. Another five years on they may move on to commandant, currently earning a salary of around £35,000.

You must be between 17 and 22 years of age before October of your application year to join the Air Corps. However, if you have a third-level qualification or if you are already in the Defence Forces, the upper age limit is increased to 24 years of age.

Air Corps applicants need to have a minimum of three C3s in Leaving Cert higher-level papers and three D3s in ordinary-level papers. These results must include a minimum of a D3 in ordinary level in maths, in English or Irish and a modern European language.