This WATS was Different

Andy Smith, CEO and Publisher, Halldale Group, welcomed delegates at the Keynote Session by laying the foundation for this year’s conference. While the community training evangelist first recalled Halldale and CAT have been working for over 30 years with the airline simulation and training community, he modestly added, “We thought we had seen it all with terrorism, wars, SARS, 9-11, various accidents and incidents such as planes gone missing or being shot down,” – for starters, then candidly pointed out the C-19 pandemic “is different.” Yet, in a glass half-full outlook, the industry executive pointed out, in one instance, beyond the huge economic downturn with which the sector is still grappling, the pandemic has hastened the adoption of technology across the community.

The community veteran also called attention to other converging forces and issues which the civil aviation sector needs to manage, including workforce mental health, the surge in unruly passengers, “green concerns”, and the imperative to strive for workforce diversity.

The implications of the above developments are huge. In one instance, the S&T community will need to continue to work toward a radical construct for ground schools; wisely integrate VR/AR/XR into curricula; manage the exchange of Big Data between operations and training; and continue to embrace tailored, personalized learning. Of no surprise, Smith sees an ever-increasingly important role for Halldale and CAT to educate and inform the community about these issues.

While “big operators” will adopt the above trends and changes, Smith asserted the community needs to also include resource-challenged and smaller operators around the globe in this sector’s transformation.

CAE’s Technology Focus

Marc Parent, CAE’s President and CEO, noted his team embraced technology and innovation to help his company and customers successfully emerge from the worst periods of the pandemic, and continues to integrate technologies into its business model. While many delegates are certainly familiar with CAE’s Rise data-driven training system, the executive noted it is pursuing the use of AI, and other technologies – indeed, a digital ecosystem – to enable pilots, cabin crews and maintainers to persistently operate safely and efficiently.

The CAE leader provided an upbeat forecast on the industry’s post-pandemic renaissance, noting in one case, 260,000 new pilots will be needed over the next decade and 100,000s of technicians will be needed to continue the industry’s growth and sustainment.

Parent concluded the sector is at “an inflection point” with a clean sheet for training needed as eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) aircraft and other innovations are introduced across the industry.