CAE and Lufthansa Flight Training (LFT) today announced at the Farnborough International Airshow that they have joined forces focused on providing pilot and cabin crew training for Bombardier*'s CSeries* aircraft.
The joint venture operating under the name of Flight Training Alliance (www.flighttrainingalliance.com) combines the operational expertise, profound instructor and courseware development know-how, technology leadership and global reach of two industry-leading partners. Flight Training Alliance was appointed today by Bombardier as its exclusive Authorized Training Provider for CSeries aircraft worldwide.
"We are excited to join forces with Lufthansa Flight Training. This joint venture will provide a best-in-class training solution for the all-new CSeries aircraft, leveraging the strengths and core expertise of the two partners," said Nick Leontidis, CAE Group President, Civil Simulation and Training. "It is the first of its kind in the industry, and the introduction of the CSeries in the market provided the ideal opportunity to expand the longstanding relationship that LFT and CAE have had for many years on the provision of training equipment to a full partnership in the provision of training."
"We are proud to partner with CAE to meet the needs of Bombardier and CSeries aircraft operators worldwide," said Florian Hamm, Lufthansa Flight Training CEO. "By combining the specific strengths of both joint venture partners it is now possible to set new standards in training competence.CSeries aircraft operators will have access to leading-edge instruction based on more than 50 years of training experience and world-leading simulation technology and knowhow."
Flight Training Alliance will deploy training programs in the LFT and CAE networks and will leverage the global networks, instructional delivery from both partners to support customer requirements. The first training program deployments will be ready for training prior to entry into service of the aircraft.
Bombardier will work with the joint venture to ensure that training programs are aligned to CSeries aircraft operators' requirements and that they have access to training programs where and when they need them in the marketplace. Bombardier and the joint venture will use the same training program courseware and curriculum to ensure consistency in quality and delivery across the network. The joint venture will also work with Bombardier to ensure that training programs are aligned with the evolution of the aircraft over the life of the program.
About Lufthansa Flight Training
Lufthansa Flight Training GmbH (LFT) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Deutsche Lufthansa AG. In addition to Lufthansa itself, more than 200 other airlines now take advantage of the expertise of LFT in areas such as simulator training, emergency and service training and e-learning. In 2013 LFT sold more than 200,000 simulator hours to customers from around the world. On the basis of more than 50 years of training experience gained from the flight operations of a major airline, LFT has been continuously and successfully expanding its wet training activities over the past years. Today, every third of the company's simulator training customers is purchasing wet training solutions. LFT instructors are among the most experienced in the industry. Each of its more than 250 trainers has on average over 17,000 hours of flight experience, with around 7,000 hours on the type of aircraft that they teach at Lufthansa Flight Training. Further information can be found at www.lufthansa-flight-training.com.
About CAE
CAE (NYSE: CAE; TSX: CAE) is a global leader in providing comprehensive training solutions based on world-leading simulation technology and integrated training services. The company employs 8,000 people at more than 160 sites and training locations in 35 countries. Our vision is to be our customers' Partner of Choice and we take a long-term approach to customer relationships. We offer our civil aviation and defence and security customers a complete range of highly innovative product, service and training centre solutions designed to help them meet their mission critical needs for safety, efficiency and readiness. We provide similar solutions to customers in healthcare and mining. CAE has the largest installed base of civil and military flight simulators, supported by a range of after-sales services, and has been serving the needs of its customers for nearly 70 years. We have the broadest training services network in the world and offer civil aviation, military and helicopter training services in 67 locations worldwide and train more than 120,000 civil and military crewmembers annually. www.cae.com
Follow us on Twitter @CAE_Inc
-30-
*Trademarks of Bombardier Inc. or its subsidiaries.
CAE contacts:
Media: Nathalie Bourque, Vice President, Public Affairs and Global Communications,
+1-514-734-5788, [email protected]
Investor relations: Andrew Arnovitz, Vice President, Strategy and Investor Relations,
+1-514- 734-5760, [email protected]
Lufthansa Flight Training Contact:
Uta Dressel, Head of Corporate Communications, +49 69 696 73373, [email protected]
