CAE and Avianca Holdings (Avianca) announced today the official opening of a new CAE training centre in Bogota, Colombia. CAE and Avianca Airlines executives and employees celebrated the inauguration of the new flight training centre alongside government officials. The milestone event officially marked the start of a 15-year exclusive pilot training agreement between CAE and Avianca Airlines. In addition to Avianca, the centre will offer training services to airlines in the region.
“Our Bogota training centre will have the capacity to train approximately 2,500 pilots per year, which will allow Avianca and other Latin American airlines to address their increasing need for pilots,” said Nick Leontidis, CAE’s Group President, Civil Aviation Training Solutions. “This new training centre joins our global network of more than 55 training locations and is a clear demonstration of CAE’s ongoing commitment to better support airlines by providing pilot training close to their home bases.’’
“Having this state-of-the-art flight training centre locally, with CAE instructors providing training on the most advanced technology, will allow Avianca to ensure the highest standards of quality, safety and service for our passengers,’’ said Ana Maria Rubio, Senior Vice President, Human Resources, Avianca Holding.
CAE Bogota is expected to operate seven full-flight simulators (FFS) by the end of 2019. The centre currently offers training on multiple aircraft types with three Airbus A320 full-flight simulators (FFS), an ATR 72 FFS, and a Boeing B787 FFS. An Airbus A330 FFS and an additional Airbus A320 FFS will be added later this year. The centre is also equipped with Airbus, ATR and Boeing aircraft type flight training devices.
Avianca is the commercial brand that identifies the passenger, cargo transportation airlines and on ground services integrated in the Holding. It has a team of more than 21,000 employees. On February 22, 2019, the Holding announced its transformation plan, with the purpose of migrating from an accelerated growth model to one of profitability and competitiveness, thanks to actions such as the sale of non-strategic business units, adjustments to its route networks allowing the company to focus on higher demand and greater profitability routes, the re-negotiation of fleet incorporation with Airbus, among other actions.
CAE is a global leader in training for the civil aviation, defence and security, and healthcare markets. Backed by a record of more than 70 years of industry firsts, we continue to help define global training standards with our innovative virtual-to-live training solutions to make flying safer, maintain defence force readiness and enhance patient safety. We have the broadest global presence in the industry, with over 10,000 employees, 160 sites and training locations in over 35 countries. Each year, we train more than 220,000 civil and defence crewmembers, including more than 135,000 pilots, and thousands of healthcare professionals worldwide. www.cae.com
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NOTE TO EDITORS: Photos of the inauguration will be available at https://www.cae.com/multimedia-centre/photos/ after the event and on CAE’s Twitter account CAE_Inc
