Aviationfly – Pilot Training Industry – Market Intelligence – Week 7 of 2021

Every Monday Aviationfly releases the latest Aviation Industry news headlines, Marketplace Request for Proposals and Supplier Directory updates from the previous week. Here is a recap of last week (we are temporarily not publishing Marketplace or Supplier Directory updates):

Aviation Industry News:

• Leading fixed base simulator manufacturer MPS Installs A320 FTD At Ryanair!
  MPS has installed an A320 FTD Std. 2.0 at Ryanair’s training facility in Dublin, Ireland. The A320 was evaluated by the UKCAA and certified as an FTD-1 including FNPT-II/MCC. The FTD will be used for A320 type rating and other training following the acquisition of Austrian airline LaudaMotion. “MPS is proud to support Ryanair and its subsidiary LaudaMotion by extending a long-standing relationship and delivering an initial A320 FTD to their training center in Dublin” said MPS Chief Executive Officer Philip Adrian, “This device, as all MPS FTD’s, includes many innovative features that will further aid pilots in higher quality training.” This MPS simulator comes in addition to the 7 earlier installed FTD’s at Ryanair and will allow Ryanair to set the same high training standards for the A320 that already are incorporated in their 737 fleet.
  Check out MPS's profile.
• Flight training at one of Canada region's airport has recovered from pandemic closures
  It may be hard to picture a busy airport at this point in the pandemic, but flight training at the Region of Waterloo International Airport has kept people in the skies. A Statistics Canada report found the local airport was the busiest in the country in November 2020 with 13,619 takeoffs and landings. Interesting interview with Bob Connors, General manager of the Waterloo Wellington Flight Center.
  Find the interview here.
• Fantastic announcement about the development of the pilot training infrastructure in the Middle East - leading fixed based simulator manufacturer MPS has installed a Boeing B737MAX FTD at Oman Aviation Academy!
  This smarter simulator is the first of its kind in the region and has the latest version of the Boeing MAX software installed. The device will be certified by Oman Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and EASA as an FTD-1 including FNPT-II/MCC. OAA’s Chief Executive Officer, Captain Abdullah Al Bulushi: “We are very glad to partner with MPS and having the first Boeing 737 MAX FTD in the region installed at our facility in Sohar Airport. The device represents the state of art technology which will allow OAA to delivers the highest standard EASA integrated ATPL training program. In addition, the device will extend its services and will be available for the airlines and operators to train their pilots for safe return of B737 MAX to service.”
  Check out MPS's profile.
• Very interesting analytics data from Microsoft Flight Simulator
  - Navigraph, a Scandinavian simulation firm, has just released its annual flight simulation survey (one of the largest conducted globally), and unsurprisingly found that almost half of users have increased the amount of time spent in simulated flight over the last year.
  - The Navigraph survey traditionally provides a realistic picture of serious flight simulator users (80% of the participants use a flight simulator at least six hours a week), also giving flight schools important hints about pilot wannabes.
  - About one in five respondents of this year’s survey already work in aviation. Specifically, 4.7% are airline pilots, 2.4% are engineers, 0.8% are flight instructors, and 0.9% are ATCOs.
  - One quarter of the survey respondents are considering taking real-world flight training within the next year, while 8% are already enrolled in flight school.
  Source and discussion through this link.
• Airbus India partners with Flytech Aviation Academy to train drone pilots in India
  Airbus signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Flytech Aviation Academy, a leading Indian aviation training academy, to explore collaboration opportunities in Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) training. The MoU was inked at Aero India 2021, the country's premier defence and aerospace show, which began here on Wednesday. Airbus said in a statement that it brings a wealth of experience in aviation training, courseware development, safety and quality standards, while Flytech excels in aviation training services, including the training of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV). The two will look for synergies.
  Source and discussion through this link.
• Leading Indian Airline, IndiGo, signs cadetship program with Indian Flight School - Chimes Aviation Academy!
  - 15 cadets to be inducted soon
  - The selected cadets will undergo a four-month groundschool in Dhana, a town in Madhya Pradesh followed by 10 months of flight training.
  - The partnership was first announced in December 2020 with the announcement of the start of the first batch of students made on Saturday
  - IndiGo requests the government to work on a Multi-Crew Pilot License
  Captain Ashim Mittra, senior vice-president, flight operations at IndiGo, said on Saturday: "We have about 4,000 pilots in IndiGo today. We are hoping for a long-term partnership with Chimes Aviation Academy. We request the government to work on a multi-crew pilot licence."
  Source and discussion through this link.
• Indian Airline, IndiGo, resumes hiring!
  - 32 new ATR Pilots hired
  - 25 ATR deliveries confirmed for this year
  Source and discussion through this link.
• Pilots of Moroccan national airline company, Royal Air Maroc (RAM), will benefit from a remote training of US Company “CPaT Global”, a leader in E-Learning Solutions for Airlines!
  The announcement was made by the Texas-based company which has been awarded a contract by the Moroccan flag carrier for initial and recurrent training spanning a variety of fleets, including the B737-MAX-8, B737NG, B787, E190, B747-400, 747-8, and B767-300. RAM will be implementing CPaT’s Aircraft Systems Courses, Interactive Diagrams, and Aviation Specialty Courses (General Subjects) for their training curriculum.
  Source and discussion through this link.
• One of the largest flight schools in Australia was insolvent a year before administration believes KPMG
  KPMG has told Soar Aviation’s creditors it believes the flight school was insolvent almost a year before it went into voluntary administration, Australian Aviation can reveal. The organisation has also said the group of companies that make up Soar will be placed into liquidation, unless a deed of company arrangement is received imminently. The news comes after the flight training school went in administration in late December 2020, with unsecured creditors owed hundreds of thousands and having left many of its current trainees in limbo. KPMG’s voluntary administration report to creditors, released last week, reads, “From FY18 the Group [Soar Aviation] relied on external funding from the Growth Fund in order to meet operating expenses. Whilst there was no contractual obligation to provide continual funding, the Administrators’ preliminary view is that the Growth Fund loans were instrumental to the going concern of the Group.
  Source and discussion through this link.
• Ryanair eyes slow-then-sudden 2021 recovery!
  Ryanair expects a gradual recovery in the spring to be followed by a “substantial” return to flying through the summer, as desperate northern Europeans rush back to holiday destinations.
  Source and discussion through this link.
• A look at some of the startup airlines entering the market in 2021!
  - Wizz Air Abu Dhabi (UAE)
  - Air Arabia Abu Dhabi (UAE)
  - FlyBig (India)
  - Breeze Airways (US)
  - Avelo Airlines (US)
  - Flyr (Norway)
  - Play (Iceland)
  - flyPOP (UK)
  - EGO Airways (Italy)
  - Green Africa Airways (Nigeria)
  Source and discussion through this link.
• Air Travel Forecast: When Will Airlines Recover from Covid-19?
  Great forecast by one of the largest management consultancies in the world - Bain & Company!
  Source and discussion through this link.
• Etihad and Singapore Airlines become first airlines to operate with 100% vaccinated crew
• China’s Challenger to Boeing, Airbus to Finally Begin Deliveries
  Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China, or Comac, will deliver its first C919 single-aisle jet by the end of the year, newspaper Global Times reported Sunday, citing Comac general engineer Yang Zhigang. The C919, comparable to the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737, had its first flight in 2017 but has yet to carry any commercial passengers. With President Xi Jinping’s government eager to reduce China’s reliance on Airbus and Boeing, Comac can afford to plan for the long term. That’s why it’s moving ahead on an even more ambitious project this year, with Yang saying it would begin manufacturing of the CR929, a twin-aisle jet it’s developing with a Russian partner.
  Source and discussion through this link.
• Saudi Arabia's Sovereign Wealth Fund (Public Investment Fund) plans to establish a major airline company to compete with the state-owned Saudi Arabian Airlines and other major aviation companies in the region!
  The Saudi sovereign wealth fund, in collaboration with investment entities, has made major headway in the formation of the company that targets to tap the vast opportunities in the aviation sector along with the Kingdom’s plan to attract as many as 100 million visitors and tourists annually by the year of 2030. The new airline will operate both international and domestic flights; the newspaper reported quoting sources, who requested anonymity. “The project has come a long way in its studies, but it is not yet in the final shape,” they said.
  Source and discussion through this link.
• India’s largest airline expects to reach pre-Covid international capacity by end-2021, CEO says!
  - Indian low-cost carrier IndiGo’s international operations are struggling, but could make a full recovery by the end of the year, said CEO Ronojoy Dutta.
  - His prediction is more optimistic than that of other airline executives.
  - Dutta also said he sees “lots of opportunities for growth” after the virus pandemic ends.
  Source and discussion through this link.
• Ontario announces $2M for ‘game changer’ airborne COVID-19 detector!
  The province is providing $2 million towards an investment aimed at accelerating production and the commercialization of the made-in-Ontario Kontrol BioCloud real-time airborne COVID-19 detector. The BioCloud monitors air quality and samples continuously for pathogens like viruses, bacteria and fungi — including SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The province says when the device detects the presence of the virus, it provides provides an alert for the company using it, over the cloud or their local intranet.
  Source and discussion through this link.

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