Spatial Composites gets a first-time US deal with Virgin contract

Jebel Ali-based Spatial has its production facility at Ras Al Khaimah where it is currently completing an A330 and a Boeing 737 cabin trainer for Oman Air. The contracts for these were placed almost a year ago at the Aircraft Interiors Middle East show in Dubai.

The company also built a special A320 cabin trainer for the Etihad training centre in Abu Dhabi. The trainer had to be installed through a difficult access which required designing the cabin replica in two parts with final assembly occuring in the training centre.

This experience led to the Virgin America contract

" The Virgin America Cabin Service Trainer is a 1:1 scale replica of an actual Airbus A320 fuselage and features an enhanced cabin layout complete with galleys, seats, overhead stowage bins, operational PSU’s and an over wing exit," said Spatial Composite's chief executive Joseph McKeever.

The device will provide Virgin America with a realistic environment in which to train cabin crew on all aspects of premium cabin service procedures. It will be located at the company’s training facility in their Burlingame H.Q. close to San Francisco International Airport.

The cabin trainer will be built in two parts and delivered to San Francisco in two 40-foot containers before assembly at the Virgin training centre.

“We are obviously delighted to have an opportunity to supply Virgin America with the A320 installation at their new training facility,”  McKeever said. “ Virgin America has made its mark by offering outstanding guest service and beautifully designed cabins with a host of high-tech amenities and entertainment systems.  Virgin America is certainly not lacking in innovation and the level of sophistication planned for its new training centre underscores the company’s commitment to excellence in just about everything it does,” he added.

“Virgin America is known for its award-winning guest service, and we are committed to investing i n high quality training facilities for our teammates ” said Frances Fiorillo , SVP – People & In-Flight Services at Virgin America “ We are delighted to partner with Spatial Composite Solutions in developing our A320 Cabin Service Trainer which will provide our growing team with the best environment in which to hone their service skills.  Our training programs remain unique in the industry and the new facility will allow us to create an even more robust program."

McKeever said that the UAE embassy in Washington had offered support in helping facilitate meetings with other airlines in the US. "We are competitive and looking very seriously as setting up something in the USA," he said.

Meanwhile, Spatial Composites has been in talks with Mubadala about opening a production facility in Al Ain, as part of the Al Ain Aerospace Cluster. Mubadala's own composites business Strata is already operating at the airport in ABu Dhabi's second city.

"We have only been in Ras Al Khaimah for a short time and it is working very well for us as we have capacity here.  You can lose two or three months of production by changing facilities but there is a lot of interest in what is happening at Al Ain. We are continuing to review the position," McKeever said.