Partnering with an established pilot training facility under a long-term, unlimited use contract provides predictable training costs and a stable training program, according to Atlantic Coast Airlines (ACA).

Rick Delisi, an ACA official, told C/R News that the regional carrier has contracted with Pan Am International Flight Academy (PAIFA)for full use of PAIFA's simulators and training facilities. The agreement is under a "dry" contract, with ACA instructors doing the actual training. PAIFA also offers "wet" contracts under which its own staff serves as instructors. While ACA provides its own training instructors, the contract is a comprehensive training agreement which includes flight simulation, training center facilities and, if required, simulator instructors.

PAIFA provides three CRJ-200 Level-D simulators, a 328JET Level-D simulator and a Jetstream 41 Level-C simulator for ACA. These are also available for other carriers and for individuals seeking Type Rating training.

ACA also has the advantage of having a training facility right in its own backyard, said Ralph Leach, director of regional aircraft training for PAIFA. Both ACA and PAIFA are located near Washington Dulles International Airport.

Leach said that the contract between PAIFA and ACA is "a professional partnership where we complement each other at several levels, more than a typical provider and a user." He added that one of the things that sets PAIFA apart from other training facilities is that "we focus on the combination of professional training and customer service, delivering the very best training with a personal touch."

PAIFA has similar long-term contract with Mesaba Airlines in Minneapolis. That airlines operate Saab 340s and Avro RJ85s, so PAIFA recently opened a training facility in Minneapolis with two 340 simulators plus an Avro RJ85 simulator for Mesaba pilot training. Chicago Express is another major Saab customer that is one of PAIFA's long-term training partners at the Minneapolis facility.

Dave Jackson, a Mesaba official, told C/R News that the airline leases space from PAIFA for its own training requirements. It also signed a lease earlier this month to move its entire headquarters next to the PAIFA facility.

PAIFA is looking at other regional carriers to set up similar facilities, although it would have to make "good business sense" to open a facility and purchase or lease the simulators required. The Mesaba official noted, however, that the company "is nimble enough so that if an opportunity presents itself, it can quickly be evaluated. The philosophy is to find the need, then fill it."

The training company has divisions spread out at 11 locations throughout the United States. Its corporate headquarters is in Miami, where it was originally established in 1980 to serve as Pan American World Airways' training facility. It was purchased in 1992 following Pan Am's liquidation, then re-purchased in 1998 by its present owner, John W. Childs Associates, a Boston-based investment firm.

The training academy currently has six training divisions: commercial, for aircraft with 101 seats and above; regional, for aircraft 100 seats and below; business and general aviation aircraft; career pilot development; air traffic control; and aviation security and compliance training.

The regional division was established in 1999 and is headquartered at the Dulles facility near Washington, D.C., with additional facilities in Minneapolis and St. Louis, Mo.

Leach said that Air Wisconsin as well as a number of European airlines are currently under contract for BAe 146 training at Dulles. The European carriers include WDL and Eurowings from Germany, Meridiana from Italy, and CityJet from Ireland. It also provides Avro RJ85 training for British Airways CitiExpress. PAIFA has Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) certification for its Avro RJ, Jetstream 41 and BAe 146 simulators. It also provides Saab 340 pilot and maintenance training under a two- year agreement with Quebecair Express. The academy is certified by Transport Canada as a Canadian-approved training organization. Maintenance training and pilot ground school is done at the Quebecair facility in Quebec City, while pilot simulator training is done at PAIFA's Minneapolis facility. Training for the pilots started last January and mechanics training started in February.

PAIFA academy has a Part 142 training certificate allowing it to provide training "across the entire spectrum of operators," including Part 135 (on-demand operators), Part 121 (scheduled operators), Part 91 (corporate operators) and Part 61 (general aviation). This allows the academy to develop a training program for an airline, which then becomes the airline's FAA-approved training program. "The FAA is constantly watching us to ensure that these programs are both professional and correct," Leach said.

One of the side effects of the current rapid growth of the regional airline industry is that the pilot candidate pool does not have much, if any, glass cockpit experience, he said. "We went out to the industry and asked the (regional) carriers what they needed in their new hires. What we were told was that there is a need for pilots with more glass cockpit time, more experience in sophisticated aircraft, more multi-engine time and more experience in operating in a high-density ATC environment."

As a result, the academy adopted training programs that can take a pilot "all the way through to a CRJ type rating," he said. "When a pilot graduates from PAIFA, he is a known entity. He can go right into a regional carrier with the experience he needs." Leach said that some airlines are now allowing the PAIFA training to substitute for higher flight time requirements. The academy also has an air crew education (ACE) program, a bridge program that carries a pilot from a general aviation environment into an airline environment, Leach said.

>>Contact: Ralph Leach, PAIFA, tel: 703-433-2201; e-mail: rleach@panamacademy.com<<