Etihad Airways buys 1 Airbus A350 FFS-Full Flight Simulator

Etihad Airways is doubling the capacity of its training academy by purchasing 7 full flight simulators, in a $200 million deal.

The deal with Canadian manufacturer CAE will see Etihad Airways take delivery of its first Airbus A380 and Boeing 787 FFS, and will support the airline’s growing training requirements.

In total Etihad Airways has ordered 3 Boeing 787 FFS, 1 Airbus A380 FFS, 1 Airbus A350 FFS, and 2 Airbus A320 FFS. All are CAE 7000 Series models. The airline currently has 4 CAE FFS: 1 Boeing 777, 1 Airbus A320 and 2 Airbus A330/340s.

The A350 Full Flight Simulator will arrive in 2014, in parallel to the EIS of the aircraft with the launch customer Qatar Airways. Etihad has an order for 12 A350-900 (plus options for additional 10) and an order for 42 Boeing 787-9; this is the reason they buy 3 FFS for 787 and only 1 for A350 XWB.

James Hogan, Etihad Airways’ president and CEO said: “The pilot training requirements for Etihad Airways, as well as members of our equity alliance, continue to grow and these new full flight simulators will ensure we are ideally placed for the next phase in our expansion. We place great emphasis on the efficiency of our operations and the safety of our passengers and this deal means we will be using the most advanced training technologies for the broadest range of aircraft types.”

The construction work at the training academy will double its size and eventually house 11 full flight simulators and be among the best in the world. The deal with CAE includes update services for the FFS and an exclusive 10-year agreement for training equipment and services. The flight training devices include CAE Simfinity Airbus Pilot Transition trainers and CAE Simfinity Integrated Procedures Trainers.



CAE will continue to update Etihad Airways’ existing four CAE-built FFS to the latest aircraft configurations and technology. The technology includes the latest generation CAE Tropos 6000 XR visual system.

Based on the article “Etihad Airways buys seven flight simulators for $200m“ published in Khaleej Times