Virgin pilots get home ground advantage

Virgin Australia’s Perth pilots have undergone flight simulator training on their home turf for first time after realising a deal with global aviation trainer CAE.

The airline's Western Australia-based pilots started training at CAE’s Boeing 737NG full-flight simulator in Jandakot earlier this month, in what was a first for Virgin’s local crew.

Virgin previously sent its WA pilots to the eastern seaboard or as far away as London to meet surging simulator training demands.

The new facility, which was opened in the past year, will allow Virgin to make significant cost savings and increase its domestic training capacity by 25 per cent.

CAE and Virgin initially struck the partnership deal back in August 2022 before the international training provider had deployed the Boeing 737NG simulator in Jandakot. 

Virgin said the partnership deal was a part of its plan to grow its WA resources sector and contract flying business.

Today’s announcement comes as Virgin anticipates the delivery of eight additional Boeing 737-8 aircraft to its fleet later this month.

Virgin Australia chief operations officer Stuart Aggs said the investment to strengthen its training capacity in WA provided more opportunities for local pilots to undertake essential flight training closer to home. 

“This is another important milestone for Virgin Australia that underscores our ongoing commitment to our people, fleet and infrastructure as we continue to build and position the business for sustainable growth into the future,” he said.

“Our operation in WA is a fundamental part of our success. Not only is it home to our regional airline, VARA, Perth is also our fourth largest port by capacity and frequency with up to 17 routes operating in and out of Perth across the country throughout the year.

“The establishment of this training base reflects a major investment in building our training capability in the state, while also contributing to the development of aviation talent across the country."

Mr Aggs said the Jandakot facility would save significant money in its training programs.

“The simulator has the potential to support more than 5,000 hours of flight crew training in its first operational year, delivering greater efficiency and yielding significant cost savings in our training program with less travel required of Perth-based pilots completing their initial and recurrent training,” he said.

“We are delighted to be partnered with CAE, which shares our commitment to upholding the highest standards of aviation safety and operational excellence.”

CAE offers defence and health care training alongside its aviation services, with six offices across Australia.  

CAE group president civil aviation Nick Leontidis said the company was happy to expand its partnership with Virgin Australia.

“An important part of setting up optimal learning conditions for pilots is being close to where they work and opening this capacity at our Jandakot training centre will do just that for the 200 Virgin Australia flight crew based in WA,” he said.

Transport Minister Rita Saffioti congratulated Virgin Australia on helping to train more pilots locally.

“We all know there is a great need for more pilots, and having a new training operation within WA will help to encourage more people to enter the industry,” Ms Saffioti said.