Simaero to invest $100 million over five years to train 5,000 pilots

Simaero, a France-based flight simulator provider, announced on Thursday it will invest $100 million in India over the next five years to train up to 5,000 pilots.

This investment will be allocated to establish infrastructure related to the training facility and develop a trained local workforce. "The development of a state-of-the-art training facility in Delhi NCR is well underway, with construction expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2024," the company mentioned.

This facility, which is spread over 4,500 square metres, will feature eight full-flight simulators for A320neo and B737NG aircraft.

Simaero said it is entering the Indian aviation market as the Indian carriers have placed record-setting aircraft orders, which exceed their current active fleet.

To meet the growing demand in the country's air travel market, Indian carriers have made four significant aircraft orders since last year. In February 2023, the Tata-run Air India Group placed an order for 470 planes: 250 with Airbus and 220 with American planemaker Boeing.

In June 2023, IndiGo made the world's largest aircraft order by signing a deal for 500 A320neo family planes from Airbus. In January 2024, the new airline Akasa Air placed an order for 150 B737 Max aircraft with Boeing.

Last month, IndiGo placed an order with Airbus for 30 A350-900 widebody aircraft at a deal size estimated to be between $4-5 billion.

India presently has approximately 12,000 active pilots. According to a recent study by Boeing, India will need approximately three times the number of pilots over the next 20 years to accommodate this growth.

"Currently, India has limited aviation training infrastructure. With a growing demand, many airlines are required to send their pilots overseas for training which increases costs in an industry which operates on minimal margins," Simaero noted.

Nicolas Mouté, CEO of Simaero, said, “Our substantial investment in India reflects our confidence in the country's strong economic foundation and the promising growth of its aviation industry."