Portuguese Pilots Discover Eastern Europe for Airbus A320 Training
After signing a cooperation agreement with the CAE and introducing an Airbus A320 full flight simulator in Vilnius, Lithuania, Baltic Aviation Academy (BAA) opened its doors for a large number of students from Portugal. Compared to the same period last year, the number of Portuguese students interested in the BAA type rating training programs has increased by 50%.
The first private Baltic Aviation Academy students group that graduated from the Airbus A320 type rating courses consisted solely of Portuguese students. Moreover, of all the telephone and e-mail queries received by the academy around 10% are made by the Portuguese. 60% of them express interest in the A320 aircraft type training programs, the rest – in Boeing 737 type rating training courses.
‘The launch of the new A320 full flight simulator generated an exceptional Portuguese pilots’ interest in our training centre. The growing popularity of this particular type of aircraft and an increasing demand for pilots in Portugal means that pilots are more than ever concerned with finding the most cost effective and time efficient solutions. Baltic Aviation Academy offers attractive training programs at affordable prices without compromising on a quality. No wonder that it is increasingly becoming the No.1 choice for Portuguese pilots wishing to learn the ins and outs of operating an Airbus. Previously they much more often opted for training programs in Germany.’, commented the CEO of Baltic Aviation Academy Egle Vaitkeviciute.
‘Training in Baltic Aviation Academy was a great learning experience for me. I studied hard and was able to demonstrate excellent results in my exam. All instructors in both theory lectures and flight training sessions were exceptionally professional and attentive to students’ needs. If I receive an opportunity to train for another aircraft type I will certainly not hesitate to come back to this particular institution.’ says the Portuguese BAA A320 type rating student Luis Teles.
The low cost airline EasyJet has recently confirmed its intention to establish a base in Lisbon Portela airport by April 2012 thus further increasing the Portuguese pilots’ interest in A320 type rating training opportunities. EasyJet will generate around 100 new jobs, most of them open to pilots and crew members. The airline will also purchase at least two A320 aircraft which will be based in Lisbon.
By the end of 2010, Baltic Aviation Academy pursued 34 training programs with 2000 students trained by 100 professional flight instructors every year. Half of the BAA academic staff had come to teach in the academy from abroad. On average 10 foreign pilots arrive to study at Baltic Aviation Academy daily. Pilots from Russia, the CIS, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Sweden, Norway, Italy, Greece, India and Spain participate in theoretical courses and take practice sessions in full flight simulators.
With headquarters in Vilnius, Lithuania, Baltic Aviation Academy engages professional aviation instructors from Lithuania, Latvia, Sweden, Slovenia, Italy, Greece, Germany and Austria. Practical knowledge is gained across a full flight simulator network in Lithuania, Sweden, France, Spain, Belgium, Germany, Great Britain, and the USA. In 2011 the company expects to train over 5000 pilots, who are to spend more than 18 000 hours in full flight simulators.
