Market Intelligence: South East Asia

Cessna 172 Skyhawk Celebrates 70 Years as World’s Leading Trainer Aircraft

USA – The Cessna 172 Skyhawk marks 70 years of flight this month, as it continues to lead the industry as the most popular aircraft in the world. The iconic high-wing Cessna 172, now known as the Skyhawk, first took flight in June 1955. Through the intervening decades, more than 45,000 172s have been delivered to customers across the globe.

“As the most popular aircraft in aviation history, the Cessna Skyhawk’s 70 years of success in pilot training and aviation programs highlight the aircraft’s exceptional design and enduring performance,” said Chris Crow, vice president, Piston Sales. “With our ongoing dedication to innovation, including the recent enhancements to the Cessna piston lineup, we look forward to seeing the Skyhawk continue to inspire the journey of flight as the go-to aircraft for flight schools and private pilots across the world.”

Customers taking delivery of the aircraft today enjoy new, modern features added to the legendary aircraft last year, including powered headset jacks, black instrument panels and upgraded seats for comfort and durability.

The Cessna Skyhawk is considered the aircraft of choice for pilot training. In 2015, Textron Aviation introduced the Top Hawk program to provide students with access to Skyhawks, the world’s most popular trainer aircraft. The program connects students from flight schools and universities with factory-new Cessna Skyhawks, supporting the industry with a robust pipeline of skilled aviators. Nearly 50 Cessna Skyhawks have been placed with various flight schools and universities as part of the program, both in the U.S. and the first U.K. recipient this year.

Source: Cessna
Photo Credit: Cessna

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CAE Hosts Malaysia Airlines’ Engineering Team at Kuala Lumpur Facility to Explore Collaboration on Maintenance Training

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – CAE Kuala Lumpur hosted a strategic meeting with Malaysia Airlines Berhad Engineering Services (MAB Engineering) at its Kuala Lumpur training center. The session focused on exploring potential areas of collaboration aligned with both organizations’ shared vision of advancing Malaysia’s aerospace industry especially aircraft maintenance training.

Source: Shuwari Shahril (CAE)
Photo Credit: Shuwari Shahril (CAE)

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Philippines’ Cebu Pacific Air Celebrates First Year of Domestic Cadet Pilot Program

Philippines – Celebrating a successful first year of the new domestic Cebu Pacific Air Cadet Pilot Program 2.0 in partnership with Airworks Aviation Academy proudly marks the release of three cadet batches and a total of 57 first solo flights.

In June 2024 Cebu Pacific (CEB), the fast growing Philippines based low-cost carrier operating over 80 aircraft, announced that it was partnering with Philippines based flight training organisation Airworks Aviation for its Cebu Pacific Cadet Pilot Program. The program is currently the only airline in the country offering this program, giving aspiring pilots high-quality training experience, mentorship, and guaranteed employment path with the airline. Over a five-year period, CEB will deploy a total of 240–300 Cadet Pilots to Airworks.

The 96 week program will see aspiring pilots get their Commercial Pilot License with Instrument Rating as well as a type rating on either Airbus A320 or ATR72-600.

Source: Airworks Aviation 
Photo Credit: Airworks Aviation

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Spartan Education Group Hosts VietJet Delegation at Illinois Aviation Academy in 2025

United States – Aviation education provider Spartan Education Group, which owns several pilot and aircraft maintenance training institutions across the US, hosted a delegation from Vietnam’s low-cost carrier VietJet at its Illinois Aviation Academy facility to explore collaborative training efforts and regulatory alignment.

  • VietJet representatives visited Illinois Aviation Academy, a flight school acquired by Spartan Education Group in October 2024.

  • The visit aimed to strengthen collaboration on pilot training techniques and ensure alignment with CAAV (Vietnamese Civil Aviation Authority) certification standards.

  • Discussions were held between VietJet officials and the Spartan leadership team on potential future training pathways for Vietnamese cadet pilots.

Source: Spartan
Photo Credit: Spartan

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Airworks and Cebu Pacific Launch Largest Cadet Pilot Batch Yet in June 2025

Cebu, Philippines – Airworks Aviation Academy, one of the largest flight schools in the Philippines, has welcomed Batch 4 of their Cebu Pacific Air Cadet Pilot Program, marking a new milestone as the largest cohort to date. The program welcomed 24 cadets—6 women and 18 men—who were selected from thousands of applicants through a rigorous screening process.

The launch was held with the presence of Capt. Franz Estavillo and signifies both organizations’ continued commitment to cultivating world-class pilot talent in the Philippines and the broader Asia-Pacific region.

In June 2024 Cebu Pacific (CEB), the fast growing Philippines based low-cost carrier operating over 80 aircraft, announced that it was partnering with Philippines based flight training organisation Airworks Aviation for its Cebu Pacific Cadet Pilot Program. The program is currently the only airline in the country offering this program, giving aspiring pilots high-quality training experience, mentorship, and guaranteed employment path with the airline. Over a five-year period, CEB will deploy a total of 240–300 Cadet Pilots to Airworks.

The 96 week program will see aspiring pilots get their Commercial Pilot License with Instrument Rating as well as a type rating on either Airbus A320 or ATR72-600.

Source: Vincent Charles Ong (Airworks Aviation Company)
Photo Credit: Vincent Charles Ong (Airworks Aviation Company)

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Hillsboro Aero Academy Cadets Progress to Line Training with Vietjet in 2025

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam – based airline aviation training academy and full flight simulator training center Vietjet Aviation Academy (VJAA) has highlighted that its cadets which conducted their flight training at Hillsboro Aero Academy in Oregon, United States completed their type rating and are starting their line training with VietJet.

Oregon based flight school Hillsboro Aero Academy welcomed its first batch of six VietJet Cadets in April 2023 following a Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) approval in 2020.

Source: Vietjet Aviation Academy

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