Flight training provider CAE has formed a strategic partnership with corporate aviation investment firm Directional Aviation, further strengthening its foothold in the business aviation market.
Under the agreement, CAE will create a joint-venture with Directional affiliate Volo Sicuro and acquire – for $85 million – a 50% stake in simulator-based training company Simcom.
Simcom
In turn, six other Directional affiliates – manufacturer Nextant Aerospace, and operators Corporate Wings, Flexjet, Flight Options, Flairjet and Sirio – will enter into a 15-year exclusive training services agreement with Simcom and CAE. Together, the operators have a growing fleet, currently totalling 175 business jets and turboprops.
CAE chief executive Marc Parent describes the agreement as “another step in the expansion of [the company’s] business aviation training business”. This includes the $645 million acquisition of Bombardier's Business Aviation Training arm. The deal was completed in March, bringing 12 new Bombardier business jet full-flight simulators – located in Dallas, Texas and Montreal, Canada – into its training network.
As part of this latest agreement, Simcom will purchase equipment from CAE including five full-flight simulators.
“We have a clear vision for Simcom's future as an innovative training provider focused on the owner-flown market, as well as fleet operators,” says Simcom chief executive Eric Hinson. “We are extremely pleased to partner with CAE and leverage its industry-leading technology and training expertise to better serve our customers.”
Simcom currently operates 47 simulators spanning jets, turboprops and piston-engined aircraft across its facilities in Orlando, Florida, Scottsdale, Arizona, and Humberside, the UK.
Source: Flight International
