Bahrain Airshow: CAE to switch sims to meet latest GAA needs

The order reflects the 'provisional' plan between Mumtalakat owned Gulf Air and Embraer for two of the Brazilian manufacturer's regional jet.

The airline will be leasing the two aircraft once negotiations with a leasing company are complete and will be evaluating the operation of the regional jet as part of a fleet mix that will meet the requirements of the new strategy by the company.

The new simulator is to come from Canada's CAE. The company announced at the  Bahrain International Air Show that it has signed a change order contract amendment with GAA for a CAE 7000 Series Embraer 170/190 full-flight simulator. The change order amends a contract signed in June 2009 for an additional A330/340 simulator.

Talal Al Zain, Chief Executive Officer of Mumtalakat, and Jeff Roberts, CAE's Group President, Civil Simulation Products, Training and Services, were on-hand at the Show to sign the change order.

Al Zain said:"We aim to provide top quality, end-to-end aviation training solutions to commercial airlines in the Middle East and North Africa region, and will continue to make investments that meet the growing regional demand for pilot training as well as create job opportunities and financial growth in Bahrain."

The CAE 7000 Series Embraer 170/190 FFS will be delivered later this year to Gulf Aviation Academy's new training centre, which currently includes a CAE 5000 Series A320 FFS with another CAE 5000 Series A320 FFS to be delivered soon. The Embraer 170/190 simulator, which will be only the second of its type in the region, will feature the CAE Tropos-6000 visual system and CAE True electric motion system.

"We are excited about our relationship with Gulf Aviation Academy," said Jeff Roberts. "In the civil aviation market, only CAE offers a diversified portfolio of products, services and capabilities that allow us to tailor a range of aviation training solutions to our customers' requirements."