October’s Aviation India Summit 2025 to Discuss Pilot Demand and Supply

India – At the Aviation INDIA and South Asia Summit & Exhibition 2025, pilot training has been elevated to the forefront of India’s air transport growth agenda. The event will convene senior stakeholders to deliberate on how India can scale pilot training initiatives to match its rapidly growing airline fleet deployment.

  • Analysts and industry estimates indicate 16,000 pilots will be needed over the next decade in India, notably to support IndiGo and Air India.

  • A pilot training focussed panel—moderated by Maximilian Buerger of AFM—will explore key questions: Who will train those pilots over the next five years? Are current investments in training infrastructure sufficient?

  • The session will also assess the role of MPL (Multi‑Crew Pilot License) pathways for India and address the challenge of staffing flight instructors.

  • Panelists include:

    • Sunil Bhaskaran, Director, Air India Aviation Academy

    • Capt. Ashim Mittra, SVP Flight Operations, IndiGo

    • YN (Bobby) Sharma, CEO, Chimes Aviation Academy

    • Khushbeg Jattanna, GM India, Simaero

    • Joel Davidson, CEO, AeroGuard Flight Training Center

  • The 2025 summit is slated for 29–30 October 2025 at JW Marriott, Aerocity, New Delhi, and expects to host 800+ delegates and around 50 exhibitors.

Source: Aviation INDIA and South Asia Summit & Exhibition

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Simnest Pilot Academy Surpasses 30,000 Simulator Hours Across 4 A320 FNPT II Devices

Hungary – Simnest Pilot Academy has reported a major milestone: by September 2025, its four A320 FNPT II MCC simulators have logged over 30,000 operating hours across 7,113 training sessions.

  • Of those sessions, 1,998 were MCC (Multi‑Crew Cooperation) and 3,787 were APS MCC (Airline Pilot Standard MCC).

  • 1,440 APS MCC sessions were delivered specifically to Wizz Air cadets.

  • The academy achieves all training using simulators alone—no live single‑ or multi‑engine aircraft are used—underscoring its full‑simulation model.

  • Simnest’s simulator fleet includes APS‑ready FNPT II MCC devices tuned for A320 operations.

Source: Simnest Pilot Academy

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Spanish Flight Training Organisation Quality Fly Announces Expanded Partnership with FFS Training Center Operator in 2025

Spain — Madrid based flight training organisation Quality Fly and full flight simulator training center operator Global Training Aviation (GTA) have announced a closer collaboration designed to raise the bar in airline pilot training. The two organizations first partnered in 2021, when the Airline Pilot Standard Multi-Crew Cooperation (APS MCC) course on a new generation Level D Airbus A320 Full Flight Simulator was integrated into Quality Fly’s flagship ATP Integrated program, becoming pioneers in the use of Level D devices for initial pilot training. Since then, the partnership has proved a resounding success, equipping cadets with the airline-ready skills needed in today’s competitive market.

Quality Fly’s 20-month integrated program has set new benchmarks, with graduates now flying for leading carriers including Iberia, Iberia Express, Emirates, Vueling, Corendon Airlines, Ryanair, Wizz Air, Eurowings, Air Europa, Grupo Binter, SAS among others. Notably, a high number of graduates in the past two years have successfully passed airline entry assessments — a testament to the Quality Fly-GTA partnership’s rigorous, airline-focused methodology.

Who is Quality Fly?

Based at Madrid’s Cuatro Vientos Airport and will a highly international profile, Quality Fly has become one of Europe’s most recognized pilot training academies. The school focuses exclusively on the EASA ATP Integrated program, reflecting a commitment to airline-driven training excellence. All instruction is delivered in English, attracting students from more than 45 nationalities.

Quality Fly’s new ATP Integrated Program has been designed to meet the highest standards demanded by leading international airlines. The innovative curriculum follows a theory-before-flight structure, ensuring that each student achieves the highest levels of proficiency in both theoretical knowledge and practical flying skills. It is an approach that both facilitates a shorter, more intense training time, while improving the final performance in both theory and flight phases.

The program incorporates the APS MCC of 40 hours, of which nearly all of the training is done on a Level D Airbus A320 Full Flight Simulator, a Basic Gliding Course, unlimited supervised access to training simulators, a latest generation, oversized, modern fleet with night flight in multi-engine aircraft, professional career guidance, as well as a fully digitalized online campus and flight preparation system.

In total, students complete 220 flight hours and 800 hours of theoretical instruction. The program ensures graduates achieve the nine core pilot competencies defined by Airbus, consolidating their training within a professional airline environment—particularly during the advanced APS-MCC phase with GTA, where real jet experience is included.

Who is Global Training Aviation (GTA)?

Global Training Aviation (GTA) is a company within the Indra group, a leader in the aeronautical training sector. It has developed its own teaching methodology, achieving totally standardized training. This methodology, together with the most innovative didactic techniques and the use of state-of-the-art simulation systems, provides solid training that values both theoretical and practical aspects equally, complemented by a team of professionals always available to the client.

GTA has facilities on 3 continents (Spain, Indonesia, and Colombia), equipped with 6 state-of-the-art Full Flight Simulators, 3 VPT procedure training simulators, an A320 FNPT II simulator, and an Airbus A320 CEET evacuation and emergency simulator for cabin crew training. Its fleet of Level D simulators and its team of airline-experienced instructors have consolidated GTA as a benchmark in the sector.

Over the past five years, GTA has provided APS MCC training to Quality Fly cadets, using Level D simulators and active airline captains as instructors—an asset that few academies can match.

What does the increased synergy mean for future pilots?

Under the strengthened partnership, Quality Fly students will continue to benefit from 40 hours of APS MCC training using GTA’s full-flight simulators, guided by SFI/TRI instructors with active airline command experience. Students will train on the very same Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 simulators used by airlines for pilot assessments, giving them a critical advantage when transitioning to airline selection processes.

In addition, GTA’s facilities in Madrid will become an integral part of Quality Fly’s student experience, providing exposure to cutting-edge training environments from the earliest stages of their careers. New expert airline preparation courses will further reinforce Quality Fly’s value proposition, while exclusive benefits on GTA’s wider training portfolio will be offered to academy students.

A new initiative will also see Quality Fly’s top graduates included in a talent database accessible to GTA partner airlines — directly connecting airlines with highly trained, assessment-ready pilots.

A shared commitment to excellence

Together, Quality Fly and GTA are creating one of the most comprehensive and airline-focused pilot training pathways available in Europe. The collaboration combines Quality Fly’s integrated airline training model with GTA’s unrivalled expertise in simulator-based and airline-transition training, offering future pilots an unparalleled start to their careers.

Looking ahead, both organizations have signalled that more developments are on the horizon. Quality Fly and GTA plan to unveil further initiatives in the coming months, such as the impending arrival of more simulators, all aimed at ensuring current and future Quality Fly students receive the highest standard of airline pilot training available.

Source: Quality Fly

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UK Training Aircraft Lessor Diversifies Fleet Portfolio into Simulators in 2025

United Kingdom — Tesla Solutions, the UKs largest independent lessor of Diamond Aircraft (DA) to UK-based pilot training schools, has further expanded its solutions portfolio into leasing of Flight Simulator Training Devices (FSTDs).

Complementing an existing fleet of 27 general aviation aircraft comprising: 12 Diamond DA40s and 15 DA42s, Tesla Solutions has acquired two (2) Twin-Jet (B737NG and A320) and two (2) Twin-Piston (DA42) simulators hosted in a purpose-built centre at London Oxford Airport (LOA).

All four simulators leased for training operations to a new principal operator, will become qualified by the UK CAA as FNPTIIMCC/FTD1 and FNPTII respectively and will become available for ‘dry hire’ to pilot schools, individuals and airlines before the end of 2025.

Supporting the simulators in the new centre are multiple briefing rooms, classrooms and high-quality facilities meeting the needs of a full-service training centre for its customers.

The installation of the simulators at LOA will significantly expand the available pilot training capacity at a geographically convenient, accessible and well-invested central UK airport location.

John Hardcastle, Founder of Tesla Solutions said “I listened carefully to my customers and recognised that as well as flexible aircraft leases, they have also expressed a need for flexible simulator hire solutions to support their pilot training courses. We are delighted to be bringing this significant increase in available, flexible simulator capacity to the UK pilot training industry.”

Source: Tesla Solutions

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U.S. Flight Training Industry Sees Decline in Schools but Stronger Safety Culture – Flight School Association of North America President

USA – The Flight School Association of North America (FSANA), a representative body for flight training providers in the U.S., has shared its latest assessment of the flight training and aviation industry through comments from its President, Robert Rockmaker:

  • The U.S. continues to host most of the world’s leading ab initio training providers.

  • Safety and business culture within the sector are improving, with schools adopting a “Never-Ending Improvement” approach.

  • Many flight schools are now retaining instructors for 16–24 months, longer than in previous years.

  • The number of ab initio flight training schools in the U.S. has started to decline.

  • Industry consolidation continues among regional airlines.

  • Mainline carriers are expanding their single-aisle domestic fleets, increasing seat capacity per route while still requiring two pilots per aircraft.

  • Accreditation developments: flight schools recognized by the International Aerospace Accrediting Commission (IAAC) will soon be able to enroll career pilot candidates using Title IV federal funding, Pell Grants, and 529 Savings Plan money. IAAC aims for full U.S. Department of Education recognition by 2026.
  • Aviation and aerospace remain a major contributor to the U.S. economy, representing 4.5%–5% of GDP.

Source: FSANA

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