Not all gloom for aviation training as MAX, cargo fleets beckon

Aviation training specialists, which saw simulator sales plummet when the coronavirus pandemic brought air travel to a near halt, are getting some relief from an uptick in demand from cargo carriers and airlines gearing up for the Boeing 737 MAX’s return to service. Simulator makers Textron and CAE had bet on a sales bonanza with Boeing recommending fresh pilot training on a MAX simulator for the aircraft grounded since March 2019 following two deadly crashes, when it finally flew again. The pandemic dashed those hopes, crippling air traffic and casting doubt over the jet’s future. Now they look to business aviation, a lifting of travel restrictions, revived hopes for the MAX’s certification later this year or early next, and heavier cargo traffic to boost training and help through the simulator sales drought. TRU Flight Training Iceland, a joint venture between Icelandair and Textron’s TRU Simulation + Training, for example, is seeing continued demand from cargo pilots training on its Boeing 757 simulator, its managing director Gudmundur Orn Gunnarson said. Cargo carriers and Icelandair are now the center’s top sources of training activity, though that is roughly at half of where it was a year ago, Gunnarson said. Canada’s CAE, the world’s largest civil aviation training company, said it was in advanced discussions with airlines about doing more training after it reported a sharp drop in simulator deliveries.<br/>