Ethiopian Airlines' (ET) Aviation Academy is to acquire two new flight simulators for delivery later this year. The Bombardier Q400 simulator is expected in the coming months with a Boeing B787-8 simulator having recently been tendered for. |
| CAE Simulator (CAE Systems) |
According to The Reporter, Ethiopian already has one Q400 simulator bought from Canadian simulator specialists, CAE, in 2012 for USD15million. The lowest price of a Q400 simulator is 12 million dollars. The simulator is expected to arrive here in the coming few months.
The purchase is part of a range of agreements reached between Ethiopian
and Bombardier which include Ethiopian Airlines becoming a certified
Bombardier maintenance repair and overhaul centre and a distributor for
Bombardier parts in Africa. Recently, the airline's MRO department was certified to provide maintenance and training capabilities for Bombardier’s Q100, Q200, Q300 and Q400 aircraft.
With its fleet of thirteen Q400 NextGen aircraft, Ethiopian is the largest operator of the Q400 aircraft in Africa.
Meanwhile, an international tender for the procurement of a Dreamliner simulator, closed last week. Ethiopian currently operates four of the type with an additional six set to join in the next 5 years.
