Alteon Training and Jeppesen have teamed up to develop an ab initio pilot training programme, called the First Officer Training Academy, designed at qualifying pilots faster and more cheaply for airlines around the globe.
"We have got together to produce a new way of putting people through an ab initio programme," says Alteon president Pat Gaines. With an estimated demand for 15,000 new pilots annually within a few years, traditional sources of pilots, such as the military, will not be adequate, he says.
The goal is to take students and qualify them to fly in the right hand seat of a commercial airliner in a year, says Gaines. The difference with current ab initio programmes is that the partners will work closer with airlines than ever before. "From day one we will use airline procedures and establish a rigour that is very close to that used in an airline."
Alteon and Jeppesen are talking to airlines about creating a training programme that meets their needs. "We have also been working with quite a few airlines to work out prices," says Gaines. The cost will vary from carrier to carrier, but overall he believes this approach will save at least 30% compared to current ab initio prices.
"We will seek out the highest quality ab initio programmes at very strategic places around the world," says Gaines, and is close to deciding on the final four. Initially these will be in Europe, Asia-Pacific, the USA, and one other.
The first pilots to enter the First Officer Academy Programme will begin training in the first quarter of 2006. After completing flight training, student pilots will move to Alteon simulator centres to obtain their aircraft type ratings.
"We are working with airlines to understand the demand for pilot training," says Gaines. The aim is to train over 200 pilots in the first year of the programme.
Alteon, a Boeing subsidiary, operates over 70 full flight simulators and other training devices in 20 locations around the world. Jeppesen offers integrated aviation information solutions, including several training products.
Source: Flight Daily News