Simulator market to boom in India

By siliconindia   |   Monday, 27 November 2006, 18:30 IST
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Bangalore: Companies providing simulators for pilot training are in a fertile space, keeping in mind the booming nature of the civil aviation market in India, noted a Business Standard report. Seizing the market condition, Quebec-based CAE, a leader in simulation and modeling technologies for civil aviation and military customers, is looking at expanding its footprints in India. The company has already sold nine flight simulators to major air carriers in India. While Air India has taken three, Indian Airlines (Indian), Jet Airways and Air Deccan have acquired two each. Six of the flight simulators have already been installed three will be installed in 2007, noted the report. The company’s prospective customer list includes emerging airlines like SpiceJet, GoAir, Paramount Airways, Indigo and Kingfisher Airlines. It seeks to supply simulators and pilot training services to these airlines. A simulator is a flight training device which perfectly reproduces the cockpit of an aircraft, where a pilot can simulate the conditions he encounters during an actual flight. Looking at the growing need of simulators in India, CAE has recently doubled the number of its engineers to 100 at its development center in Bangalore. Nathalie Bourque, vice president, Global Communication, CAE said: “India is definitely a growing market for us and we are very happy to be a part of this growth. We are in discussion with each potential customer in India, who have placed orders for new aircraft during the last two years.” Bourque was part of a high-level delegation from Quebec, which was in India to explore possibilities of further strengthening the company’s presence in the Indian market. the Canada’s leading aviation companies like Pratt & Whitney Canada, Bell Helicopter, Textron Canada, Bombardier and Alta Precision are housed in Quebec. CAE manufactures around 25-30 simulators in a year. It has about 3,500 customers globally, including airlines, OEMs like Airbus and Boeing and people who own business aircraft. Presently, many companies including Kingfisher send their pilots to the CAE training center in Dubai, which is a joint venture between CAE and the Emirates. CAE runs 22 pilot training centers across the globe. Globally, CAE competes with Thales, a European company, and FSI, which are owned by Warren Edward Buffet, in the commercial simulator space for pilot training, noted the report.