OREANDA-NEWS.   Boeing (NYSE: BA) today announced it is greatly enhancing its flight training support for customer airlines in Asia Pacific, Europe and the Americas by adding and repositioning a number of flight training devices within its global network. The announcement, at the World Aviation Training Symposium (WATS), includes new capabilities for training on Next-Generation 737, 777 and 787 Dreamliners.

"Boeing is focused on delivering to our customers the highest quality, best value training around the world," said Sherry Carbary, vice president, Boeing Flight Services. "That means giving our airline customers every competitive advantage including the training expertise only Boeing can provide and a network of facilities and devices close to their bases of operation and their route structures. We are always looking for ways to better serve our customers and meet the increased demand for our products, services and support in the marketplace."

Boeing Flight Services, a business unit of Commercial Aviation Services, will install two new full-flight simulators-a 777 and Next-Generation 737-at its Singapore training campus. The simulators are expected to be ready for training in early to mid-2014 to support growing pilot training needs and increasing airplane deliveries in the Asia Pacific region. Singapore-based SilkAir recently signed a five-year training agreement with Boeing to support the airline's transition to an all-Boeing fleet of 737s. The added 737 training capability will also help meet demand as customers in Indonesia, Japan, Korea and China take delivery of new airplanes. Airlines in China and Indonesia as well as in the Middle East and Africa will benefit from the increased 777 training capacity.

To better support customer training needs in Europe, Boeing this year installed a new 787 full-flight simulator at its London Gatwick campus, the second 787 simulator at that site. Additionally, as part of a consolidation of North America training, Boeing has located two 787 simulators at the Flight Services campus in Miami. Those simulators are expected to be ready for training customers in the summer of 2013.

"Continued development of a robust global training network is vital, not just for Boeing, but for the industry," said Bob Bellitto, global Sales director, Boeing Flight Services. "The urgent need for competent aviation personnel is a global issue, but it's hitting the Asia Pacific region particularly hard. These new and strategically redeployed flight training devices are part of Boeing's ongoing commitment to meet the growing needs of the industry and our customers around the world."

The 2012 Boeing Pilot & Technician Outlook, a respected industry forecast of required aviation personnel, cites a demand for 460,000 new commercial airline pilots and 601,000 new maintenance technicians over the next 20 years.