Currently, Lufthansa Aviation Training operates 54 full flight simulators (FFS), and, with a load factor of around 90 percent, achieves a peak value in the industry. In 2019 and 2020, the training fleet of the leading training provider for cockpit and cabin personnel in Europe is going to be upgraded to 60 simulators through new purchases.
State-of-the-art in the long-haul segment
At both Lufthansa hubs in Frankfurt and Munich, LAT is responding to the fleet strategy of Lufthansa Airlines: In Frankfurt two Boeing 777-9 FFS are scheduled to go into service as well as one Airbus A350 FFS in Munich. There is an increasing need for training on both aircraft types considering the integration of Boeing 777-9 jets within Lufthansa Airlines in 2020 and with regard to the Airbus A350 aircraft based in Munich. All three simulators will be ready for training by mid to late 2020.
All-time favorite: Airbus A320
The short- and medium-haul aircraft Airbus A320 not only plays an important role within the fleet of Lufthansa Airlines but is also a popular aircraft type among other airlines. LAT has already certified and commissioned a new A320 simulator at its training location in Berlin in March 2019, a second one will follow in June. As such, the number of all A320 FFS within the LAT training fleet increases to 19. The two latest additions will move to Vienna in 2020 after completion of the training center there.
Opening up new business segments with promising aircraft and helicopter types
With the acquisition of a new Boeing 737MAX-FFS for the Berlin training location, LAT expands its own product portfolio by a further aircraft type and accordingly creates new training capacities.
LAT is taking a further important step by investing in its first own combined helicopter simulator H145/135 to go into service at the training center in Frankfurt.
”2019 is a special year for us, because with the largest investment in the history of Lufthansa Aviation Training in the field of pilot training, we are setting a decisive course for meeting the high customer demand in the future. With our modern fleet of simulators in operation around the clock, we are making a significant contribution to safety in flight operations. At the same time, these new acquisitions also represent an investment in the competence of our airline customers”, says Ola Hansson, Managing Director of Lufthansa Aviation Training.
Site expansion projects in Munich and Vienna
The training location of LAT in Munich, which currently operates four FFS, will be expanded by four additional spaces by 2020, two of which are planned for the new A350 FFS and one for the Embraer 190 FFS to be taken over from Frankfurt. The remaining two spaces will be used for flexible further planning, taking into account the growth at the Munich hub.
In Vienna, LAT is not only pursuing the necessity of serving the existing training volume in Austria but also the motivation to seize further market opportunities as a training provider. The simulator center, which currently accommodates four FFS, will be extended gaining three additional FFS spots and two more for flight training devices (FTD). In 2020, two of the three newly won simulator spaces will be used for the Airbus A320 simulators coming from Berlin, one will initially remain free for flexible future use.
