The Hindu Business Line : Air India’s pilot training school to buy aircraft simulators

Hyderabad, June 6 The Central Training Establishment (CTE), the premier trainer of pilots, engineering and cabin crew staff, will acquire five flight simulators to boost its facilities and meet the growing demands.

The simulators, which will train pilots in Airbus and Boeing aircraft, would cost the CTE, part of Air India, around $60 million (each simulator is about $12 million).

The process to tender and go in for purchase would begin shortly and the first simulator could be acquired in a year’s time, according to Capt. C.J. Bhoopal, Executive Director (training) and Chief Executive of CTE.

At present, it has three simulators — a full flight Boeing 737 simulator procured from Thales Training and Simulation, UK and two Airbus 320 simulators bought from CAE Canada.

With the national carrier having ordered a total of 111 large aircraft to be inducted in a phased manner, the demand for pilot training as well as all other important functionaries on ground and in-flight has gone up. Hence, CTE needs to beef up its infrastructure and facilities, Capt. Bhoopal told newspersons here on Friday.

Air India alone is inducting 43 new aircraft (A319, A320 and A321) with a projected pilot strength of approximately 1,000. The new simulators could meet the training requirements of the carrier for the next 15 years, he said.

CTE, which is about to enter its 50th year in October 2008 has provided training to 7,291 people during 2007-08 against 3,420 the previous year under various categories of aviation needs. It has eight to nine training centres focused on different areas on the 20-acre campus.

Expansion

On the expansion, he said the additional 20 acres of land would be utilised for creating new infrastructure. Also plans are to start a new training course for flight dispatchers. Approval from the Director General Civil Aviation (DGCA), was awaited, Capt. Bhoopal said.

CTE is also thinking of offering training services to private airlines and neighbouring countries once it meets its internal demands. This would generate some revenue, he added.

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