ANA to open Pan Am pilot training school in Thailand
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Japan’s ANA Holdings will open a new pilot training school in Thailand next month.
The Pan Am Thailand training school has been established following a joint venture between ANA, Thailand’s Nok Air and Bangkok’s Assumption University, and is designed to cater for the growing demand for new pilots in Asia.
Launching in September 2014, Pan Am Thailand will initially feature one Airbus A320 flight simulator, but ANA plans to expand to four simulators in 2015, including two A320s and two Boeing 737s. The facility will be based at Bangkok’s Don Mueang International Airport, the home of Nok Air.
The tie-up with Assumption University will also see creation of a new flight training department for students.
According to Boeing’s latest forecast, the Asia Pacific region will need 216,000 new commercial airline pilots over the next 20 years – 41% of global demand.
“The expansion of ANA Holding’s international flight academy business forms part of the group’s broader strategy to grow profitability… by diversifying into auxiliary airline industry services, particularly into areas which provide access to the high growth Asian market,” ANA said in a statement.
“ANA Holdings intends to continue focusing strategic investment on the expansion of aviation-related businesses in Asia.”
ANA acquired the US-based Pan Am flight academy operations in August 2013. The Japanese carrier has also recently placed orders for 70 Boeing and Airbus jets, as it moves to expand and revamp its fleet. But it also cancelled a planned investment in Myanmar-based Asia Wings Airways.
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