Emirates Will Build A New Training Center For Airbus A350 & Boeing 777X Pilots
The Dubai-based megacarrier is investing heavily in its preparations for future fleet expansion.
Emirates is to invest $135 million in a new pilot simulation and training facility ahead of accepting new widebody aircraft into its fleet from 2024.
Planning for the future
Emirates, the largest of the ‘big three’ carriers based in the Middle East, has today announced its intention to begin construction of a new advanced training facility at its Dubai headquarters.
The new facility will be designed to accommodate six full-flight simulator (FFS) bays, along with classrooms and other training spaces to prepare both current and future pilots for the arrival of the airline’s Airbus A350 and Boeing 777X fleets. The brand new, 63,318 sq ft (5,882 sq m) facility is due to open in March 2024.
The new building will be built adjacent to the existing Emirates training facilities in Dubai, thereby providing greater integration and proximity to all the carrier’s other pilot training centers.
According to the announcement, the airline’s pilot trainees will also benefit from setting up and configuring the cockpit environment using bespoke electronic devices as part of the pilot training module and uploading the data to the full-flight simulator before commencing their training session. This innovative, first-of-its-kind concept is designed to shorten the trainee’s preparatory time inside the simulator, help them maintain focus, and take full advantage of the training.
Increasing training capacity
More aircraft joining the Emirates fleet in the coming years means more pilots are required. And more pilots mean more recruitment and more training. With the addition of the new building to Emirates’ existing training colleges in Dubai, the airline will have the potential to expand its pilot training capacity by 54% per year.
With the additional training capacity that the new center will present, Emirates’ pilots will have increased flexibility and facilities to hone their flying skills using 17 full-flight simulators offering a capacity of more than 130,000 training hours per year. In line with the scheduled delivery of Emirates’ first Airbus A350 aircraft, the airline’s newest training facility will commence training its first batch of A350 pilots by June 2024.
Speaking on the announcement of the airline’s commitment to building the new training center, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates, said,
“This US$135 million investment to build a new pilot training centre will ensure Emirates’ readiness to commence its pilot training ahead of the delivery of its new aircraft fleet starting from 2024. The building will be equipped with the latest, technologically advanced simulators to provide the best training for pilots, while using solar power to reduce energy consumption.”
The new aircraft are coming soon…
With the delivery of the first A350 due sometime toward the middle of 2024, this aircraft will mark the next stage in Emirates’ all-widebody fleet development program.
At the Dubai Air Show in November 2019, Emirates placed an order for 50 Airbus A350-900 XWBs. At the time, the deal was worth $16 billion, according to the list price. The total number of A350s came about as the airline amended a tentative initial order for 30 of the type alongside an additional 40 A330neos from earlier that same year.
In addition to the introduction of the A350s next year, the carrier remains committed to Boeing products, with an outstanding order for up to 150 new Boeing 777X aircraft placed back in 2013.
The order comprised 35 777-8 and 115 777-9 aircraft. The value of this order ($76 billion) remains the highest value order ever placed for new aircraft, with the recent massive order from Air India coming a close second.
Committed to investing in training for the future
In addition to Emirates boasting an impressive array of training facilities for its flight deck crew, the airline also offers a range of training and development programs for its entire workforce.
In Dubai, these include the Emirates Flight Training Academy for cadets, Emirates Aviation University, Emirates Cabin Crew Training Centre, and numerous programs specially created for different segments of its employees.
