Frankfurt: Lufthansa Flight Training (LFT) is eyeing a partner in an Arabian Gulf country to establish a state-of-the-art base for training flight deck and cabin crew for new and existing carriers that now flourish in the GCC region, senior officials at the company, said.
LFT has also developed specialised courses for middle and top managers from non-aviation companies to help them develop vital skills.
Speaking to reporters from Qatar at LFT's base in Frankfurt, Carsten Michaelis, General Manager, Sales and Patrick Meschenmoser, Manager, Communications, at LFT said, the Arabian Gulf region was currently witnessing a boom in their aviation industry with existing air carriers consolidating their position in the market and newer ones sprining up in some countries.
Airlines such as Qatar Airways, they noted, were expanding at an enviable pace by adding new destinations on their network and boosting their aircraft fleet with modern aircraft. "And as these carriers grow, they will need more pilots and cabin crew. Also, as they buy new aircraft, they will need their pilots to undergo conversion from one type to another. This is where LFT can fill in the needs of airlines in the Arabian Gulf region," Michaelis, added.
He said, LFT, a subsidiary of Deutsche Lufthansa AG, was also interested in establishing a regional training centre in any Arabian Gulf country. " However, for such a venture, we need to go with a local partner," he said. The company, he added, was open to talks from any regional airline, especially Qatar Airways.
Further, for other industries, LFT has developed courses that help middle and top level management to develop vital skills such as taking split-second decisions that could be crucial to their business and team spirit. As part of the training, such bosses are put in a flight simulator and a crises situation is created.
The trainee and their "co-pilot" are then taught how to take instant decisions, keeping the company's benefit in mind, to avert any crises or other such situations.
LFT, meanwhile, is also gearing to train flight-deck and cabin crew for the new Airbus A-380 aircraft for which Qatar Airways is a launch customer, they added.
© The Peninsula 2006
