What to Tab in Your Pilot Logbook for an Airline Interview

If you are preparing your pilot logbook for an airline interview, tab everything specifically requested in your interview instructions. When the airline does not provide a detailed list, the most useful items to identify are usually:

• Pilot certificate and rating checkrides

• Type-rating checkrides

• Any training or proficiency events specifically requested

• Endorsements or a dedicated endorsements section

• Flight-time milestones requested by the airline

• Your most recent flight or most recent turbine flight, if requested

• Separate military, foreign, company, or supplemental flight records

The purpose of airline interview logbook tabs is simple: help the reviewer locate an important event without searching through hundreds of pages. More tabs are not necessarily better. A smaller number of accurate, clearly indexed tabs is usually more useful than an outer edge covered with labels.

If you would rather have the review, printing, and tabbing handled for you, PilotAudit’s Pilot Interview Logbook Prep Package combines a professional audit with a printed interview binder, custom tabs, and a tab index based on the records and airline instructions you provide.

First, Follow Your Airline’s Current Instructions

There is no single tab list that applies to every airline interview. Requirements can differ by carrier, candidate background, and hiring cycle. The instructions in your interview invitation, candidate portal, or recruiter email should always take priority over a list found online.

Delta’s public pilot hiring guidance tells candidates to organize their logbooks professionally, bring all original logbooks, and follow the document list sent by Pilot Selection. Southwest’s public pilot interview guidance confirms that its in-person interview includes a logbook review and that candidates receive detailed instructions about what to prepare.

Tabbing itself is not an FAA recordkeeping requirement. 14 CFR § 61.51 governs the flight experience and training that must be recorded, but it does not prescribe tab colors, labels, placement, or an airline-interview layout.

1. Certificate and Rating Checkrides

Certificate and rating events are a practical place to begin when the airline requests checkrides. Depending on your training history, these may include:

• Private pilot practical test

• Instrument rating practical test

• Commercial pilot practical test

• Multi-engine practical test

• Flight instructor, CFII, or MEI practical test

• Airline transport pilot practical test

• Aircraft type-rating practical tests

If the instructions request all checkrides or specify successful and unsuccessful events, include every event covered by that language. Do not leave out a disapproval or repeated practical test simply because it is uncomfortable to discuss. Make sure each date agrees with your logbook, application, certificates, and supporting records.

Not every simulator or company checkride appears as an ordinary flight entry. Do not invent or alter an entry just to create a place for a tab. If the airline requests the event, point the tab index to the legitimate logbook entry, training record, certificate, remarks entry, or supporting document where it is recorded.

2. Type Ratings and Requested Training Events

Airlines may ask candidates to identify type ratings or other professional training events, such as:

• Initial qualification events

• Captain upgrades

• Proficiency checks

• Line checks

• Recurrent qualification events

Only include the events covered by your airline’s instructions or otherwise needed to navigate the records you are presenting. Tabbing every recurrent event from an entire airline career can bury the items the reviewer actually requested.

3. Endorsements

Many pilots do not need a separate tab for every endorsement. One clearly labeled Endorsements section is often cleaner and easier to review.

Depending on your records and the airline’s instructions, that section may include:

• Checkride recommendations

• Complex, high-performance, tailwheel, or pressurized-aircraft endorsements

• Flight-review endorsements

• Instrument proficiency checks

• Other specifically requested endorsements

The FAA’s current endorsement guidance is contained in Advisory Circular 61-65K. A tab can make an endorsement easier to find, but it cannot correct an incomplete endorsement or replace a missing instructor signature. Review these pages early enough to address legitimate questions before the interview.

If the original signature is in a paper logbook, preserve that original record and bring it when the airline requests original logbooks.

4. Flight-Time Milestones Requested by the Airline

Some airlines ask candidates to identify specific experience thresholds. Examples may include:

• Total flight-time milestones

• Turbine-time milestones

• Turbine PIC milestones

• Multi-engine milestones

• The most recent turbine flight

• Another threshold listed in the interview instructions

Do not add arbitrary 100-hour or 500-hour tabs unless they serve a purpose. For a requested cumulative milestone, identify the entry where the running total actually crosses the threshold. Do not estimate the date from memory.

If your logbook does not contain dependable running totals, calculate and verify the milestone before it is added to the index. A wrong milestone tab is worse than no milestone tab because it directs the reviewer to information that does not support the label.

5. Recent Flying and Current Experience

An airline may request your most recent flight, most recent turbine flight, or another current-experience item. If it does, add these tabs only after the logbook has been updated with your latest entries.

A new flight, corrected entry, or updated digital export can change page numbers. This is why the final printed logbook and tab index should be completed close enough to the interview that the record remains current.

6. Military, Foreign, Company, and Supplemental Records

Your complete flight history may include more than one record type:

• Original civilian paper logbooks

• A printed digital logbook

• Military flight records

• Foreign logbooks or license records

• Company training documents

• Reconstructed or supplemental records

Use clear section labels and state exactly where each numbered tab leads. A master index can direct the reviewer to a specific binder, original logbook, page, or supporting document without mixing unrelated records together.

If your history is still entirely on paper, PilotAudit’s Professional Paper-to-Digital Pilot Logbook Conversion can create an organized digital record from the pages you provide before the interview copy is formatted and printed. Your original paper logbooks should still be preserved and brought when requested.

What Usually Does Not Need Its Own Tab?

Unless your airline specifically requests them, you generally do not need an individual tab for:

• Every flight

• Every training flight or stage check

• Every page-total line

• Every employer change

• Routine airline trips

• Arbitrary flight-time increments

• Minor corrections that are not requested events

The best airline interview logbook tabs reduce searching. If the edge of the book becomes a wall of labels, the system is no longer helping the reviewer.

Should You Use Numbered Tabs or Written Labels?

Either method can work, but numbered tabs paired with a tab index are especially useful when you have several logbooks or many requested events. They keep the physical labels short while allowing the index to provide the complete description.

A simple tab index can be written like this:

Tab 1: Private Pilot Practical Test — MM/DD/YYYY — Paper Logbook 1, Page 32

Tab 2: Instrument Rating Practical Test — MM/DD/YYYY — Paper Logbook 1, Page 67

Tab 3: Commercial Pilot Practical Test — MM/DD/YYYY — Paper Logbook 2, Page 18

Tab 4: ATP/Type Rating — MM/DD/YYYY — Printed Digital Logbook, Page 214

Short written labels such as Checkrides, Endorsements, and Most Recent Flight can work for a smaller logbook. Whichever system you choose, use it consistently across the complete record set.

PilotAudit uses this indexed approach when preparing a Professionally Printed Interview Logbook. When tabs are applicable, numbered tabs can correspond with a clean index near the front of the binder instead of covering the edge with long labels.

Where Should You Place the Tabs?

Each tab should open directly to the requested event without forcing the reviewer to turn additional pages. Because double-sided printing, page orientation, paper logbooks, and binder layouts differ, test one tab before installing the rest.

Close the logbook, reopen it using the tab, and confirm that the intended entry is immediately visible. Depending on the layout, the tab may belong on the event page or the page immediately before it. Once you determine the correct placement, use the same method throughout the book.

Keep tabs away from entries, totals, remarks, and signatures. Use removable, non-damaging flags on fragile original logbooks and make sure no tab interferes with page turning or binder rings.

Audit and Update the Logbook Before Final Tabbing

Complete any corrections, new entries, and final exports before assigning page numbers. Otherwise, a changed page can make the entire tab index inaccurate.

A Professional Pilot Logbook Audit can help identify total-time issues, category discrepancies, missing information, and entries that may need your confirmation before the pages are printed and tabbed. It is much easier to address a question before assembly than after the finished binder is already in your hands.

Final Airline Interview Logbook Tabbing Checklist

Before interview day, confirm that:

• You followed the most recent instructions from your airline

• Every requested item has a corresponding tab or index entry

• Every tab opens to the correct event or supporting record

• Checkride and milestone dates agree with your other records

• The tab index matches the physical tabs

• No tab covers an entry, total, remark, or signature

• Your most recent entries are included

• You have every original logbook and supporting document requested

• You understand what each tab represents and can explain the event

Let PilotAudit Prepare Your Printed Interview Logbook

Knowing what to tab is only one part of preparing an airline interview logbook. The records must also be reviewed, updated, formatted, printed, indexed, assembled, and checked after the final tabs are installed.

PilotAudit offers several options depending on what stage your records are in:

• The Pilot Interview Logbook Prep Package combines a professional audit with a printed, custom-tabbed interview binder.

• The Professionally Printed Interview Logbook is for pilots whose digital records are already reviewed and ready for professional printing and presentation.

• The Professional Pilot Logbook Audit provides a detailed second review before an application, interview, or self-managed printing project.

• The Professional Paper-to-Digital Pilot Logbook Conversion transfers handwritten records into an organized digital format that can later be reviewed and printed.

You do not need to have your final files ready before purchasing. You can order first and upload the most current version when you are ready for PilotAudit to begin.

For a broader walkthrough, read our complete guide to preparing a pilot logbook for an airline interview.

Frequently Asked Questions

What should I tab in my pilot logbook for an airline interview?

Start with everything listed in your airline’s instructions. Common categories include certificate and rating checkrides, type ratings, specifically requested training events, endorsements, required flight-time milestones, and recent flying.

Should I tab failed checkrides?

If the airline requests all checkrides, all pass-and-fail events, or similar language, include every event covered by that instruction. Do not selectively omit an unsuccessful event.

Should every endorsement have its own tab?

Usually not. One clearly labeled endorsements section is often easier to review unless the airline asks you to identify specific endorsements individually.

How many tabs should an airline interview logbook have?

There is no ideal number. Use enough tabs to identify every requested event without making the logbook crowded or difficult to navigate.

Do airlines require physical logbook tabs?

There is no universal FAA or airline rule requiring the same physical tabs for every interview. Follow the current instructions provided by the airline interviewing you.

Should I bring my original paper logbooks with a printed digital logbook?

Bring every original record requested by the airline. Delta publicly tells candidates to bring all original logbooks. A printed digital binder can make the record easier to review, but it does not replace originals when the airline asks for them.

Can PilotAudit add tabs to my printed interview logbook?

Yes. PilotAudit’s interview package includes custom tab organization based on the records, confirmed events, and airline instructions provided by the customer.

PilotAudit reviews, organizes, formats, converts, and prints pilot logbook records using the documents provided by the customer. The pilot remains responsible for verifying the accuracy, completeness, and legality of all entries and for following the airline’s current interview requirements. PilotAudit does not guarantee interview or hiring outcomes.