Air India, Airbus in talks to set up Rs 3,500 crore pilot training facility

The facility is expected to be formed under a joint venture between the two companies where each will have a 50% stake

Tata Group-owned Air India is in talks with Airbus to set up a pilot training facility, the largest in South Asia, The Economic Times (ET) reported on Thursday. The Rs 3,500 crore facility is expected to be formed under a joint venture between the two companies where each will have a 50 per cent stake.

The report said that the facility will initially begin with six simulators for the Airbus A320 and A350 family of aircraft. It will later have the capacity to operate up to 20 simulators, making it one of the largest such facilities in South Asia.

Moreover, the facility will be used by Air India but also be open to other customers of Airbus.

Currently, the largest share of the flight simulation business is held by CAE Simulation Training Private Limited (CSTPL), a joint venture between IndiGo's parent company InterGlobe and CAE Inc.

CSTPL operates eight simulators and is planning to add another five in the next two years.

The ET report said that Air India is also in talks with US-based L3 Harris to set up another joint venture to train its pilots for Boeing aircraft such as the 737, 777, and 787. Former chief executive officer of AirAsia, Sunil Bhaskaran, is overseeing this exercise.

An official was quoted in the report as saying that the facility may become a centre of excellence in the region.

Notably, this comes at a time when the two Indian airlines have placed mega orders for aircraft. Air India placed an order for 470 planes in February. In June, IndiGo placed another order of 500 planes of A320 family aircraft.