A flurry of orders in the final months of the year boosted commercial flight simulator sales for 1999 beyond 50 machines.

Thomson Training & Simulation (TTS) ended the year with its largest order ever, from Saudi Arabian Airlines to build or upgrade nine full-flight simulators. The long-expected order included new simulators for the Boeing MD-90 and 777 and upgrades for Airbus A300-600 and Boeing 747-300 machines.

TTS also closed the year with orders from Iberia for an Airbus A320 simulator, for delivery late this year, and from Lufthansa for a Boeing 767-300ER machine for delivery to its Frankfurt training centre in mid-2001.

CAE Electronics, meanwhile, ended the year with an order from Air New Zealand for a Boeing 737-300 simulator, equipped with Evans & Sutherland ESIG-3800 visual system, for delivery in the first quarter of 2001.

The Canadian manufacturer also closed the year with orders from Continental Airlines, for a 767-400 simulator and MaxVue visual; Emirates, for an Airbus A330-200 machine to be delivered in November; Jet Airways of India, for a 737-800 simulator and 737-400 flight training device to be delivered to Mumbai in 2001; Lufthansa, for an Airbus A319 machine with MaxVue visual to be delivered to Frankfurt in June 2001; and Brit Air for a Bombardier CRJ-200/700 simulator, with MaxVue visual, to be ready for training in November.

Source: Flight International