In what is a first for Boeing Commercial Aviation outside of the United States, it has been announced that the aviation giant will team up with a flying school in the Eastern Cape to meet increased demand for air crews across the continent.

43 Air School, near Port Alfred in the Eastern Cape, will soon begin a pilot-training partnership with Boeing.

The agreement comes after Boeing projected huge growth in demand for new aircraft, and personnel, across Africa.

Boeing said the next 20 years will see the need for Africa to acquire 800 new aircraft, worth about $100 billion.

The “Street to Right Seat” partnership aims to cut the cost of pilot training for airlines, and in the process, produce high-quality graduates who automatically qualify to serve at first officer level on Boeing aircraft.

Boeing says flying schools currently don’t meet the demand for air crew, and it also believes the East Asian market is growing.

Speaking at 43 Air School’s Port Alfred campus on Tuesday, Joao Miguel Santos, Boeing’s director of sales for Africa and the Middle East, said the pilot training requirements had changed due to technological changes to aircraft and air travel systems. Therefore, more cooperation between flying schools and aircraft companies was needed.

The new partnership will aim to ensure a smoother transition for newly trained pilots into operating aircraft because airlines often need to provide further training, which is a further expense.

43 Air School was the first African partner because of the quality of its facilities, as well as the training opportunities offered by the Eastern Cape’s open skies.

The CEO of 43 Air School, Attie Niemann, said the institution’s three campuses aimed to produce up to 300 pilots a year.

[Source: BusinessDay]