44 questions below appear in dated candidate reports from 2025 and 2026, and each one carries the number of independent sources that mention it. The full bank holds 140: 17 for the HireVue video interview, 62 for the Teams interview, the psychologist and the Dubai interview and 61 for the technical: the 737, the operation and the simulator brief. Every question carries the same 3 things: the shape of a 60 to 90 second answer, the weak answer the panel hears most, and the question it asks next.
Bank checked on 2026-09-20. A question marked reported was seen in candidate reports; a question marked expected is PanelPrep's own, written for the competency named, and is never presented as something a candidate reported. Nothing here states an flydubai procedure, limit or figure.
1. Why did you pick flydubai?
Reported by 5 sources, latest June 2026 · The Teams interview, the psychologist and the Dubai interview · Both seats · Motivation
The shape of the answer
- Answer as if the HireVue answer was not heard: 2 reasons specific to flydubai, each with a fact and its date.
- The operational reason: a single fleet, a 737 future you can see in the order book, a hub 7 hours from everywhere.
- What the choice costs you and why you accept it: the sectors, the nights, the bond.
- Say how long you intend to stay and what that depends on.
The weak answer. An answer about Dubai rather than about flydubai, or one that names the pay figures from the careers page.
What the panel asks next. What would make you leave?
2. Why flydubai?
Reported by 5 sources, latest March 2026 · HireVue video interview · Both seats · Motivation
The shape of the answer
- 2 things specific to flydubai that fit your career: a single 737 fleet, a 7 hour network, the growth on order.
- Evidence you have read: the fleet count and its date, the 2025 results, the orders placed in November 2025.
- What you bring that a 737 operator needs now: currency on the type or a comparable jet, recency, hours in the seat.
- The long view: a career at flydubai with command as the next step.
The weak answer. A list of benefits from the careers page, or an answer that would work for Emirates if the name changed.
What the panel asks next. At the interview: why flydubai and not Emirates, which is next door and flies widebodies?
3. Tell me about yourself and your background.
Reported by 4 sources, latest June 2026 · The Teams interview, the psychologist and the Dubai interview · Both seats · Professional history
The shape of the answer
- Current seat, type, hours and base in 1 sentence, then the path in 3 moves with the reason for each.
- The airline you fly for now, said with respect, in 1 sentence.
- 1 thing outside the cockpit that says how you work.
- Hand over: why this move now.
The weak answer. A 5 minute chronology with no reasons, or a reason for every move that is a complaint.
What the panel asks next. Why are you leaving now?
4. What do you know about flydubai?
Reported by 4 sources, latest June 2026 · The Teams interview, the psychologist and the Dubai interview · Both seats · Company knowledge
The shape of the answer
- The airline in 4 facts with dates: founded 2009, 98 737s in September 2026, 140 destinations at end 2025, the 2025 result.
- The order book and what it means for a pilot: MAX 9s this year, 787s from early 2028, A321neos from 2031.
- The operation: short sectors inside 7 hours, Terminals 2 and 3 at DXB, a network at 85 percent after the conflict.
- 1 thing you found that surprised you, and why it matters to you.
The weak answer. The careers page fleet of 88, or a wrong 787 date; the panel knows the site is stale and you should too.
What the panel asks next. What happened to the network in March 2026, and what does it mean for a new joiner?
5. The simulator is frozen on vectors. Brief me the ILS approach.
Reported by 3 sources, latest June 2026 · Technical: the 737, the operation and the simulator brief · Both seats · Communication
The shape of the answer
- The approach, the runway, the frequency and course, the platform altitude and where you expect to intercept.
- The descent profile: the minima, the go around altitude, the missed approach route in your own words.
- The configuration and speeds by gate, and what you want called by the other seat.
- The threats: the tight base you expect, the raw data until the flight director comes, the go around at minima.
The weak answer. A briefing that skips the missed approach, which is the leg the simulator is about to fly.
What the panel asks next. Now brief the go around: what do you say, and what does the other seat do?
6. Why do you want to be a pilot? What brought you to flying?
Reported by 3 sources, latest March 2026 · HireVue video interview · Both seats · Motivation
The shape of the answer
- The moment, in 1 sentence, and what it showed you about the work rather than the glamour.
- What has kept you in it since: the problem solving, the crew, the standard.
- 1 example from the last year where the job asked for exactly that.
- Close on what the next step, flydubai, adds to it.
The weak answer. A childhood story that ends at the childhood, with nothing about the pilot you are today.
What the panel asks next. At the interview: what part of the job do you like least?
7. Why aviation?
Reported by 2 sources, latest June 2026 · The Teams interview, the psychologist and the Dubai interview · Both seats · Motivation
The shape of the answer
- The reason that is still true, in 1 sentence, and the reason that stopped being true.
- What the job gives you that nothing else did, with a sector as evidence.
- The standard you hold yourself to and where it came from.
- Close on what you want from the next 5 years in it.
The weak answer. The window seat at 6 years old, and nothing since.
What the panel asks next. What would you do if you lost your medical tomorrow?
8. Tell me about your aviation career and experience.
Reported by 2 sources, latest June 2026 · The Teams interview, the psychologist and the Dubai interview · Both seats · Professional history
The shape of the answer
- Types and seats in order, with the hours on each, in 4 sentences.
- The operation you know best and what it taught you that transfers: short haul, night, the Gulf, single fleet.
- The hardest year and what it did to your flying.
- Where you are now and why it is the right moment to move.
The weak answer. A recital of aircraft with no operations, or a career that sounds like it happened to you.
What the panel asks next. Which of those operations is most like flydubai’s, and why?
9. Some arithmetic: at this ground speed, how long to the waypoint, and how much fuel will you burn getting there?
Reported by 2 sources, latest June 2026 · Technical: the 737, the operation and the simulator brief · Both seats · Knowledge
The shape of the answer
- Say the method out loud before the number: distance over speed for time, time times flow for fuel.
- Round to something you can hold, then correct: 7 miles a minute at a typical cruise ground speed.
- Give the answer with its unit and a sense check against the flight plan.
- If you slip, say so and redo it; the panel grades the method and the recovery.
The weak answer. Silence followed by a wrong number, or a right number with no method the panel can follow.
What the panel asks next. Now the wind changes by a large amount. Redo it?
10. Explain the holding entries. Draw the pattern and tell me how you would enter from here.
Reported by 2 sources, latest June 2026 · Technical: the 737, the operation and the simulator brief · Both seats · Knowledge
The shape of the answer
- The pattern: an inbound track to the fix, a turn, an outbound leg timed or by distance, a turn back.
- The 3 entries by sector: direct, parallel and teardrop, with the boundary lines relative to the inbound track.
- Talk the panel through your own method for finding the sector from your heading to the fix.
- Then the corrections: wind on the outbound leg and the timing that keeps the inbound leg true.
The weak answer. Naming the 3 entries and being unable to pick one from a heading the panel gives.
What the panel asks next. Now there is a strong wind across the inbound track. What do you do on the outbound leg?
11. How do you intercept a radial, inbound and outbound, on raw data?
Reported by 2 sources, latest June 2026 · Technical: the 737, the operation and the simulator brief · Both seats · Flight path management
The shape of the answer
- Orient first: where the station is, which radial you are on now, which one you want, from the bearing pointer.
- Choose the intercept angle from how far off you are, and set the course so the needle deflects the right way.
- Inbound: a heading that cuts the radial before the fix, lead the turn from the closure rate, then hold it.
- Outbound: same picture reversed, then hold the radial with small heading changes and watch the drift.
The weak answer. Turning toward the needle without first saying where the station is, which is how the simulator ends early.
What the panel asks next. The needle moves faster than you expected. What does that tell you and what do you do?
12. What are V1, VR and V2, and what decides them?
Reported by 2 sources, latest June 2026 · Technical: the 737, the operation and the simulator brief · Both seats · Knowledge
The shape of the answer
- V1 as a decision: at or above it you continue, below it you may stop, and the runway decides where it sits.
- VR as the speed to raise the nose so the aircraft leaves the ground and reaches V2 by the screen height.
- V2 as the speed that guarantees the climb gradient on 1 engine with the gear up.
- What moves them: weight, flap, runway, slope, wind, temperature, contamination, and the anti ice and bleed configuration.
The weak answer. V1 called the take off decision speed with nothing on what happens at it, or the speeds recited without what decides them.
What the panel asks next. Why can V1 be lower than VR but never higher?
13. Give me your take off briefing, normal and emergency, and name the threats you see today.
Reported by 2 sources, latest June 2026 · Technical: the 737, the operation and the simulator brief · Both seats · Communication
The shape of the answer
- The runway, the departure, the initial altitude and the first turn, then the performance: flap, thrust, the speeds, the assumptions.
- The threats you can see from the seat: crosswind, heat, a wet runway, a busy departure, a distraction.
- The emergency half: who does what before V1 and after, the engine out routing, the acceleration altitude, the return.
- Close with what you want from the other seat and ask for questions.
The weak answer. The airline’s briefing card read aloud with no threat that belongs to today.
What the panel asks next. The crosswind is at the limit and gusting. What changes in the briefing?
14. Let us go through your questionnaire results. What are your strengths and weaknesses?
Reported by 2 sources, latest January 2026 · The Teams interview, the psychologist and the Dubai interview · Both seats · Self awareness
The shape of the answer
- Agree with the profile where it is right, in 1 sentence, and say where it surprised you.
- 2 strengths with a sector each; 1 weakness with what it costs you and what you do about it.
- How the weakness shows in a crew, and how the other seat would notice it.
- Answer every question the same way you answered the questionnaire; the psychologist has both.
The weak answer. A weakness that is a strength in disguise, or a profile disputed line by line.
What the panel asks next. The questionnaire says you prefer to work alone. How does that fit a 2 crew cockpit?
15. What can you bring to the team? What will you bring to the cockpit?
Reported by 2 sources, latest October 2025 · HireVue video interview · Both seats · Self awareness
The shape of the answer
- Name 2 things, each with evidence: the experience you hold and the way you work with the other seat.
- Tie the first to flydubai’s operation: short sectors, many of them, at night, in a single fleet.
- Tie the second to a sector where it mattered, in 2 sentences.
- Say what you expect to learn, so the answer has 2 directions.
The weak answer. A list of adjectives with no sector behind any of them.
What the panel asks next. At the interview: give us an example of that from your last month on the line?
16. Do you plan to relocate? Why Dubai?
Reported by 2 sources, latest August 2025 · The Teams interview, the psychologist and the Dubai interview · Both seats · Relocation
The shape of the answer
- The decision, stated as made: who moves, when, and what you have already done about it.
- 1 thing you know about living in Dubai that you did not learn from the careers page.
- The practical part: housing on an allowance, schooling if relevant, the cost of the first 3 months.
- End on how long you intend to stay and why that is realistic.
The weak answer. A plan that depends on a decision somebody else has not made yet, or an answer that is only about tax.
What the panel asks next. What will you miss most, and how will you manage it?
17. Describe your flight training experience.
Reported by 1 source, latest June 2026 · The Teams interview, the psychologist and the Dubai interview · First officer · Professional history
The shape of the answer
- Where, when, what licence, in 1 sentence, then the type rating and the operator conversion that followed.
- The 1 thing in training you had to work hardest at, and how you closed it.
- What your training taught you about how you learn, and how you use that on a new type.
- Close on your last recurrent check: what it graded and what you took from it.
The weak answer. A school name and a date, with nothing about how you learn.
What the panel asks next. How would you approach a 737 conversion course after years on another type?
18. What difficulties do you expect moving to our operation, and how would you mitigate them?
Reported by 1 source, latest June 2026 · The Teams interview, the psychologist and the Dubai interview · First officer · Self awareness
The shape of the answer
- Name 2 real ones: a new type or a new airline’s SOPs, and the Gulf summer with night sectors.
- For each, what you will do before the course and in the first 100 sectors.
- The 1 thing you will ask for help with and from whom.
- The thing that will not be a difficulty, and why.
The weak answer. No difficulties expected, or difficulties that are the airline’s to fix rather than yours.
What the panel asks next. What went wrong in your last conversion course?
19. What was your biggest challenge during training?
Reported by 1 source, latest June 2026 · The Teams interview, the psychologist and the Dubai interview · Both seats · Self awareness
The shape of the answer
- The challenge in 1 sentence, specific: a manoeuvre, a subject, an instructor, a life event.
- What it cost you: the extra session, the failed progress check, the honest number.
- What you did about it, in order, and who helped.
- What it changed in how you train now.
The weak answer. A challenge chosen because it was overcome easily, or one blamed on the instructor.
What the panel asks next. Have you ever failed a check?
20. Tell me about a time you received criticism from an instructor or a captain and improved from it.
Reported by 1 source, latest June 2026 · The Teams interview, the psychologist and the Dubai interview · Both seats · Self awareness
The shape of the answer
- The criticism in their words, and what you felt in the moment, in 1 sentence.
- What you did in the next 24 hours, and in the next month.
- The evidence it worked: the next check, the next sector, the same captain.
- What you now do differently when you give criticism.
The weak answer. Criticism you disagreed with, told as a story about the instructor being wrong.
What the panel asks next. Tell me about criticism you did not accept, and why?
21. Tell me about a time you saw a colleague break a rule, and how you handled it.
Reported by 1 source, latest June 2026 · The Teams interview, the psychologist and the Dubai interview · Both seats · Application of procedures
The shape of the answer
- The rule and the breach in 1 sentence, without making the colleague a villain.
- What you said in the moment, in the words you used, and what happened to the aircraft first.
- What you did afterwards: the conversation, the report, the reason you chose that route.
- What you would do differently.
The weak answer. Doing nothing and calling it discretion, or reporting first and speaking never.
What the panel asks next. What if the colleague had been the captain and the flight was already airborne?
22. How did you prepare for this interview and this role?
Reported by 1 source, latest June 2026 · The Teams interview, the psychologist and the Dubai interview · Both seats · Motivation
The shape of the answer
- What you read, with names: the postings, the results, the fleet page, the newsroom.
- What you did in the aircraft or the simulator: the raw data flying, the profile, the hours you protected.
- Who you spoke to, and the 1 thing they told you that changed your preparation.
- What you would still like to know, as a question back.
The weak answer. A prep company’s name as the whole answer, or nothing at all said as confidence.
What the panel asks next. What did you find out that made you less sure about joining?
23. Why do you consider yourself a good pilot?
Reported by 1 source, latest June 2026 · The Teams interview, the psychologist and the Dubai interview · Both seats · Self awareness
The shape of the answer
- Define good first, in the competency words: procedures, flight path, decisions, the other seat.
- 2 pieces of evidence: a check result, and a sector where the standard held under pressure.
- The thing you are still working on, named without apology.
- Say who would agree, and why they would.
The weak answer. Hours as the whole proof, or a claim with no check and no sector behind it.
What the panel asks next. What would your last captain say is your weakness?
24. How did you adapt, or how will you adapt, from a smaller aircraft to a jet like the 737?
Reported by 1 source, latest June 2026 · The Teams interview, the psychologist and the Dubai interview · First officer · Knowledge
The shape of the answer
- The 3 things that change: energy and inertia, automation and its modes, the pace of a 2 crew cockpit.
- What you did or will do for each: the raw data handling, the mode awareness, the callouts.
- 1 moment where the difference caught you, and what you learned.
- What stays the same: the scan, the decision structure, the discipline.
The weak answer. Speed as the only difference, or an answer that treats the automation as the adaptation.
What the panel asks next. What does a jet do in a go around that a turboprop does not?
25. What are CAT I and CAT II minima, and what separates them?
Reported by 1 source, latest June 2026 · Technical: the 737, the operation and the simulator brief · Both seats · Knowledge
The shape of the answer
- The categories as a ladder: each step lowers the decision height and the visibility the approach may be flown in.
- What buys each step: ground equipment, aircraft equipment, crew qualification and recency, all 3 together.
- What changes in the cockpit between them: who flies, who monitors, what is called at decision height.
- The figures are in your operations manual; say where, and say the one you fly to daily.
The weak answer. A decision height quoted with confidence for a category the candidate has never flown.
What the panel asks next. What can you not do on a CAT II approach that you can on a CAT I?
26. What is RVSM airspace?
Reported by 1 source, latest June 2026 · Technical: the 737, the operation and the simulator brief · Both seats · Knowledge
The shape of the answer
- What it is: reduced vertical separation between the flight levels where most jets cruise, doubling the usable levels.
- What it requires of the aircraft: 2 independent altitude sources, an altitude alerting system, a transponder, and an autopilot that holds level.
- What it requires of the crew: an approval, the cross checks before entry, and what to do when equipment fails inside.
- Why it matters in the Gulf: dense traffic on few routes and airspace closures that compress it further.
The weak answer. Reciting the separation figure and stopping, with nothing on the equipment or the failure case.
What the panel asks next. You lose 1 altimeter in the cruise inside RVSM airspace. What now?
27. An engine fails just after take off. What do you do, how do you stabilise the aircraft, and which way can you turn?
Reported by 1 source, latest June 2026 · Technical: the 737, the operation and the simulator brief · Both seats · Application of procedures
The shape of the answer
- First the aircraft: rudder to keep straight, pitch to the attitude that holds the speed, wings level, gear up when climbing.
- Then the plan: fly the engine out routing briefed before departure, climb to the acceleration altitude, clean up, then the drill.
- Turns: as the briefed procedure says, at the speed and bank the performance allows, in the direction it is written.
- Say what you brief before every take off so this answer exists before the failure does.
The weak answer. Starting with the checklist, or a turn direction stated as a rule rather than as the briefed procedure.
What the panel asks next. What is the acceleration altitude for, and what happens if you clean up below it?
28. How do you plan fuel for a flight?
Reported by 1 source, latest June 2026 · Technical: the 737, the operation and the simulator brief · Both seats · Knowledge
The shape of the answer
- The layers in order: taxi, trip, contingency, alternate, final reserve, additional, then extra with a reason.
- What each protects against, in 1 phrase each.
- How the alternate is chosen and when 2 are needed or none is.
- The decision on the day: what makes you add extra, and what you write down when you do.
The weak answer. A list of the layers with no reason for any of them, or extra fuel added by habit.
What the panel asks next. You are below your planned fuel at top of descent. What do you do and what do you say?
29. You find yourself at 60 degrees of bank. How do you recover?
Reported by 1 source, latest June 2026 · Technical: the 737, the operation and the simulator brief · Both seats · Flight path management
The shape of the answer
- Recognise and announce it, then unload: reduce the back pressure so the wing is not stalled while rolling.
- Roll to wings level with aileron and spoiler; rudder only if roll control is not enough, and gently.
- Adjust thrust for the speed you have, and only then reset the automation.
- Say how you got there: the 3 causes of upsets, and the one that was probably yours.
The weak answer. Pulling first, or rolling and pulling together, which loads the wing when it least needs it.
What the panel asks next. Same thing nose high, speed decaying. What changes?
30. Talk me through a nose high upset recovery.
Reported by 1 source, latest June 2026 · Technical: the 737, the operation and the simulator brief · Both seats · Flight path management
The shape of the answer
- Recognise: the attitude, the speed trend, the horizon gone from the top of the display.
- Disconnect, push to unload, trim nose down if needed, reduce thrust, and if the nose stays up, roll.
- Roll level as the nose reaches the horizon, recover the speed, then trim and re engage.
- The order matters and it is the same on every jet; the details of thrust and roll are your type’s.
The weak answer. Rolling first without unloading, or using thrust alone on a type where thrust pitches the nose up further.
What the panel asks next. Why would you roll rather than just push?
31. What is lift?
Reported by 1 source, latest June 2026 · Technical: the 737, the operation and the simulator brief · Both seats · Knowledge
The shape of the answer
- The force from the pressure difference across a wing moving through air, at right angles to the relative airflow.
- What it depends on: airspeed, air density, wing area, and angle of attack through the lift coefficient.
- What the pilot controls in flight: angle of attack and speed, and how they trade in a turn.
- 1 practical consequence you use daily: why the approach speed rises with weight and the stall speed with bank.
The weak answer. Bernoulli alone, or a formula recited without saying what the pilot controls.
What the panel asks next. Why does the stall speed rise in a level turn?
32. What is a stall, and how does it happen?
Reported by 1 source, latest June 2026 · Technical: the 737, the operation and the simulator brief · Both seats · Knowledge
The shape of the answer
- The wing exceeds its critical angle of attack, the airflow separates, and lift falls while drag rises.
- It is about angle of attack, so it can happen at any speed, any attitude and any weight.
- The cues on a jet: the buffet, the warning system, the low speed awareness on the display, the sluggish controls.
- The recovery in 1 line: reduce the angle of attack first, roll wings level, then thrust as needed, then climb.
The weak answer. Defining it by a speed, which is exactly the misunderstanding the question tests.
What the panel asks next. How does the aircraft warn you before the stall, and what do you do at the first warning?
33. What speeds do you hold at?
Reported by 1 source, latest June 2026 · Technical: the 737, the operation and the simulator brief · Both seats · Knowledge
The shape of the answer
- The principle: the published maximum holding speed depends on altitude band and on the aircraft category, so the protected area stays valid.
- Where the bands and figures live: your charts and the state’s AIP, and which one applies where you fly.
- What you fly in practice: the aircraft’s recommended holding speed, which is usually below the maximum and saves fuel.
- What you tell ATC if you cannot comply with either.
The weak answer. A single number for all altitudes, said with confidence.
What the panel asks next. You are told to hold and your fuel gives you 20 minutes. What do you say and do?
34. Tell me about airspace classifications.
Reported by 1 source, latest June 2026 · Technical: the 737, the operation and the simulator brief · Both seats · Knowledge
The shape of the answer
- The ladder from A to G as a trade of service for freedom: who is separated from whom, who needs a clearance.
- What changes for an IFR airliner between the classes: separation from VFR traffic, information versus control.
- The classes you actually fly in on a Gulf sector, and where the boundaries bite: the terminal area, the airways, uncontrolled gaps.
- The practical consequence: what you look out for in a class where VFR traffic is not separated from you.
The weak answer. Reciting the letters with the rules for each and no sense of which ones a 737 sees.
What the panel asks next. What class is the airspace around Dubai, and what does that mean for a departure?
35. In the cruise the cabin crew report an animal loose in the hold, or the load has shifted. What do you do?
Reported by 1 source, latest June 2026 · Technical: the 737, the operation and the simulator brief · Both seats · Problem solving and decision making
The shape of the answer
- Fly first: is the aircraft handling normally, any trim change, any pitch tendency; if so, slow down and secure.
- Gather: what exactly was reported, by whom, what was loaded, what the loadsheet says.
- The captain decides with a structure: continue, divert or return; from either seat supply control, time and the ground.
- Tell the crew, tell ATC, tell the company, and brief the landing for a changed centre of gravity.
The weak answer. A joke about the crocodile, or an answer that goes straight to landing without checking the aircraft is controllable.
What the panel asks next. The aircraft is now pitching nose up and you are holding forward pressure. What changes?
36. What is a balanced field, and what is an unbalanced one?
Reported by 1 source, latest June 2026 · Technical: the 737, the operation and the simulator brief · Both seats · Knowledge
The shape of the answer
- Balanced: the V1 where the distance to stop equals the distance to continue on 1 engine, so both fit the same field.
- Unbalanced: V1 moved so one distance is shorter than the other, used when a clearway or stopway makes that pay.
- Why it matters: where the V1 range sits on a short, hot or wet runway, and what a lower V1 buys.
- Say who does the calculation and what you check on the day.
The weak answer. Balanced field defined as the runway length, or an answer that cannot say why anyone would unbalance it.
What the panel asks next. What does a wet runway do to V1, and why?
37. What are VMC conditions?
Reported by 1 source, latest June 2026 · Technical: the 737, the operation and the simulator brief · Both seats · Knowledge
The shape of the answer
- The visibility, the distance from cloud and the ceiling that let a flight be conducted by visual reference.
- How they vary with the airspace class and the altitude, and where the figures live.
- What VMC gives an IFR airliner: the visual approach, the visual separation, the circuit you will fly in the simulator.
- What it does not give: a release from your IFR clearance until you ask for one.
The weak answer. 1 visibility figure for everywhere, or a definition that stops at the weather with nothing on what you may do in it.
What the panel asks next. You are cleared a visual approach at night. What are the conditions for accepting it?
38. Describe the UAE airspace structure.
Reported by 1 source, latest June 2026 · Technical: the 737, the operation and the simulator brief · Both seats · Knowledge
The shape of the answer
- The single flight information region, the control centre that runs it, and the terminal areas around Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.
- The traffic problem: 3 major airports in a few miles, converging flows, and neighbours whose airspace opens and closes.
- What it means on the day: the standard departures and arrivals, the level restrictions, the holds you may be given.
- What changed in 2026: closures and corridors during the conflict, and why you read the NOTAMs before every sector.
The weak answer. A blank on the neighbouring airspace, which is where the 2026 disruption came from.
What the panel asks next. What did the airspace closures of March 2026 do to a Dubai departure, and how would you plan for it?
39. You lose radio communication. What do you do in VMC, and what do you do in IMC?
Reported by 1 source, latest June 2026 · Technical: the 737, the operation and the simulator brief · Both seats · Application of procedures
The shape of the answer
- First the checks: the box, the frequency, the headset, the other radio, the guard frequency, the transponder code.
- VMC: continue visually, land at the nearest suitable aerodrome, tell ATC by any means that you have landed.
- IMC: hold the last level for the set time, then the cleared route and filed level, approach at the expected time.
- Say what the state’s procedure adds or changes, because the ICAO rule is the base and not the whole.
The weak answer. Squawking the code and reciting the IMC rule with no checks first, or no idea what ATC expects you to do.
What the panel asks next. Your clearance was to a level below the one you filed. Which do you fly?
40. Tell us about yourself.
Reported by 1 source, latest March 2026 · HireVue video interview · Both seats · Professional history
The shape of the answer
- Where you are today: seat, type, hours, base, in 1 sentence.
- The 3 moves that got you here, each with the reason you made it.
- 1 thing outside flying that says how you work.
- Why flydubai now, in 1 line that hands the next question over.
The weak answer. Reading the CV back to people who hold it, or running past 2 minutes on a recording with a clock.
What the panel asks next. At the interview: the same question opens the Teams call. Now tell us why you are leaving?
41. What is your aim here?
Reported by 1 source, latest June 2025 · The Teams interview, the psychologist and the Dubai interview · Both seats · Motivation
The shape of the answer
- The next 2 years: the line, the type if you are converting, the standard you want on the line check.
- The 5 year view: command, in the time flydubai takes, on its terms.
- What you will do while you wait for it that makes you useful to the fleet.
- 1 sentence on what you will give back: instruction, safety work, mentoring.
The weak answer. Command in 2 years said as a demand, or an aim that lives at another airline.
What the panel asks next. What if command takes 5 years?
42. State your flying hours in detail: total, multi crew, in command, on the 737.
Reported by 1 source, latest February 2025 · The Teams interview, the psychologist and the Dubai interview · Both seats · Professional history
The shape of the answer
- The 4 figures the criteria use, to the hour, from the logbook page you brought.
- How they split by type and by seat, in the same order your application form used.
- The date of your last flight on the 737, or on the jet the non type rated line counts.
- Anything that needs a footnote, said before they ask: relief hours, simulator hours, a gap.
The weak answer. Rounded numbers that do not match the form, or a total the logbook cannot reproduce.
What the panel asks next. Why is there a gap of 8 months in 2023?
43. How do you deal with conflict with the captain, the crew or passengers?
Reported by 1 source, latest February 2024 · The Teams interview, the psychologist and the Dubai interview · Both seats · Leadership and teamwork
The shape of the answer
- Your method in 1 sentence, then 1 real case for each party the panel named, briefly.
- The captain case: what you said in the words you used, and what happened to the aircraft first.
- The cabin crew or passenger case: who owned it, what you did, how it closed on the ground.
- What you changed in yourself afterwards.
The weak answer. 3 stories in which the other person was wrong and you were right, with nothing you would do differently.
What the panel asks next. Tell me about a time you were the one who was wrong?
44. How do you keep yourself updated with aviation knowledge?
Reported by 1 source, latest January 2024 · HireVue video interview · Both seats · Knowledge
The shape of the answer
- The routine, with names: the manual revisions, the safety publications, the accident reports you read.
- How you turn reading into flying: 1 change you made after something you read.
- The recurrent training you do beyond what the airline requires.
- Keep it to what you actually do; the interview may ask for the last thing you read.
The weak answer. A claim to read everything, with no title, no date and no change that came from it.
What the panel asks next. At the interview: what was the last report or bulletin you read, and what did it change?
PanelPrep is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to flydubai. Source counts refer to independent public candidate reports and prep sites read on 2026-09-20; they are not a claim about what any panel will ask on a given day.