BAA Training to invest into global FFS expansion

With the continuous news on airlines dealing with a globalpilot shortage, BAA Training announced its plans to expand its full flightsimulators’ fleet with six additional units in Europe and Asia. Preliminaryinvestments may reach €60-million Euros.

With more than 100 scheduled airlines, a network of over 400airports and 60 air navigation service providers, air transport makes a keycontributor to the European economy. Europe holds 34 percent of the global airtraffic and according to Boeing projections it will grow by 113 percent by2037. Correspondingly, the current fleet size of 4,900 aircraft is to reach8,800 with the biggest increase in small-medium size airplanes. This means thatby that time Europe will need 146,000 new pilots.

“Working closely with our partner airlines we witness thegrowing need for the training capabilities. At the moment, we can see that thecurrent training capacity at airlines is filled with existing pilot training,creating a lack of full flight simulators to prepare new pilots. It is not asecret that there is a high entry barrier for newcomers training providers –not only it requires specific know-how, but also the capital expenditures. Beinga part of Avia Solutions Group, which earned €420-million in consolidatedrevenue in 2018, we are strong to fulfill the market needs,” comments EgleVaitkeviciute, CEO at BAA Training.

According to the strategic expansion plan, BAA Trainingheadquarters is bound to expand its training capabilities with an alreadyfourth training facility and two additional full flight simulators in 2019:Airbus A320ceo and Boeing737NG. In addition to that, BAA Training is activelylooking into possibilities to expand its full flight simulator fleet in Europestarting with Rome, Italy, where two full flight simulators – Airbus A320neoand Boeing 737NG – are planned to be added in 2019-2020.

“There are about 100 airlines flying to Rome making it anair travel hub. Operating two full flight simulators of most popular aircrafttypes would allow us to create a synergy with airlines, turning Rome not onlyinto a destination location, but also a convenient pilot training location,this way helping our partners to cut back on time and money expenses,” commentsVaitkeviciute.

In addition to that, over the next 20 years, the existingfleet in South East Asia and China will nearly triple, from 7,690 airplanes in2017 to outstanding 12,970 airplanes in 2037. The need for new aircraft will bedriven mostly by the fast-growing low-cost carriers within the region. Lookingat South East Asia alone, the number of aircraft will grow from 1,480 to 4,340aircraft by 2037, from which 77 percent will be single-aisle airplanes, mainlyAirbus A320- and Boeing 737-family aircraft.

Continuing the expansion to Asia, the last year establishedBAA Training Vietnam in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, is about to open a brand newtraining centre. BAA Training Vietnam will start operations with the firstAirbus A320 full flight simulator at the beginning of the autumn and will addthe second Airbus A320neo later in 2019, in addition to the soon-to-be signedJoint Venture agreement with Henan Civil Aviation Development and InvestmentCompany (HNCA) local governmental partner in China, marking the beginning ofBAA Training China. Operated by the BAA Training franchise license, thetraining centre in Henan province is set to assemble six full flight simulatorsin total starting with Airbus A320 and Boeing 737NG by the second quarter of2020.