New Qantas flight training centre in Sydney
 

From the Qantas press release web page this morning:

The Qantas Group will train pilots at a new purpose-built centre in Sydney across its current and future fleet including the aircraft that will operate non-stop flights from the east coast of Australia to London and New York.

A new multi-million-dollar facility is proposed for St Peters near Sydney Airport and would provide training for up to 4,500 new and current Qantas and Jetstar pilots and cabin crew each year from early 2024.

The centre is expected to house up to eight full motion flight simulators, including for the Airbus A350 and A320 family of aircraft that were recently ordered as part of the airline’s Project Sunrise flights and Qantas and Jetstar’s domestic fleet renewal.

The facility will also have fixed flight training devices, emergency procedures equipment with aircraft cabin mock-up, and classroom and training facilities.

Senior Qantas and Jetstar training captains will train pilots from the two airlines while global training provider CAE will maintain the simulators and manage the day-to-day operations of the centre as part of a long-term partnership. CAE may also provide training for other airlines in the region at the facility.

Pilots typically do four sessions per year to remain current in their formal qualifications and up to 15 sessions when training for a new aircraft type.

The development is subject to planning approvals, with a submission lodged by LOGOS who will develop the centre in partnership with CAE and Qantas. The New South Wales Government has declared this proposal as state significant and will expedite its assessment.

Qantas relocated simulators from Sydney to Melbourne and Brisbane in 2021 to make way for the NSW Government’s Sydney Gateway road project. Sydney-based pilots currently travelling interstate to do their training will resume training in their home state when this facility opens in early 2024.

Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said the new training facility in Sydney would ensure the national carrier’s high training standards continue as it introduces a new generation of aircraft types.

“Qantas has trained its pilots and crew in Sydney for more than half a century and we look forward to bringing this critical function back to New South Wales with this custom-built facility,” Mr Joyce said.

“Sydney will be the launch city for our non-stop flights to London and New York, and will now be the home of pilot training for the A350s, which will operate these flights from 2025.

“As our international network recovers from the impact of COVID and we grow our fleet, this new training centre will give us the simulator capacity to train our new and current pilots.

“Having flight training centres in all three eastern states, where the majority of our crew reside, will provide significant cost savings and efficiencies by training them at their home base.

“We’d like to thank the NSW Government for its support for this world-class facility, which will generate broader economic benefits for the state.”

The New South Wales Minister for Planning and Minister for Homes Anthony Roberts said, “The NSW Government is a proud supporter of Australia’s aviation industry, and efforts like this will help strengthen capability and ensures NSW and Sydney remain the country’s global travel hub.”

“Our $60 million Aviation Attraction Fund is securing routes, creating jobs and promoting visitor expenditure to accelerate our COVID-19 Road to Recovery, and cement NSW as the premier visitor economy of the Asia Pacific.

“The NSW Government has declared the proposal as State Significant, in recognition of its potential widespread economic benefits and importance to the aviation industry.”

CAE’s President and CEO Marc Parent said, “As the global leader in civil aviation training, we are thrilled to be expanding CAE’s global network to Sydney, Australia to support the Qantas Group, a company that shares our unwavering commitment to safety.

“As the operator of 50+ civil aviation training centres around the world, CAE is uniquely positioned to provide operational efficiencies to the Qantas Group and deliver an exceptional training experience for their pilots.”

Qantas’ national flight training footprint includes centres in three states including the newly opened Qantas Brisbane Flight Training Centre, as well as the Qantas Group Pilot Academy in Toowoomba which supports the airline’s long-term pipeline of talent and its Nancy Bird Walton initiative to reach 40 per cent intake of female cadet pilots by 2028.

Full-motion simulators and fixed flight training devices (FTD) planned for Sydney Flight Training Centre:

• A380
• A350
• A330
• A320
• B787
• B738
• A380 FTD
• A330 FTD
• B787 FTD

Where will the 321XLR and A220 sims end up?

So QANTAS have outsourced the training facilities.


I wonder how long until they relinquish the actual training aswell. (The rumour was QF continue doing cyclics -CAE will do type ratings)

Quite the opposite to the CEO denying this would happen only a few weeks ago.

I had a chat to a TRE the other week and they are worried they wont be able to access sims as required for course development.

Last time QF did this (under dixon - an in house separation of the training business) it was a disaster and QF lost control - so it was incorporated back in again.

I heard this question asked recently and the response was along the lines of 'its very secretive and we cannot discuss it yet'.
I took that as being they didn't actually have a clue, but perhaps this whole Sydney thing was the answer they didn't want to annouce.

That said, I believe they said the 220 sim (not sure about 321) is due to arrive early 2023 so with Sydney not even being an option until 2024 perhaps its Melbourne or Brissy for that.

The 321xlr sim is just a software change which takes minutes sim I wouldn’t think there would be specific sims.

The 321 sim will be the 320 sim

Having a third party provider maintain the sims and run the building isn't new or uncommon, CAE does it for quite a few airlines.

QF previously and currently have farmed out endorsement training to 3rd party providers, both overseas and in Australia, to provide endorsement training when sim capacity at their own centre has been full. Trainees complete a generic course at the 3rd party centre then a few follow up sims in house to align with QF procedures.

There is no XLR data pack nor according to GO5 is there any intent to develop one.

As the airline is in tatters on so many fronts. Passengers and FFs calling for Alan's head to roll,

Meanwhile:

Alan Joyce, look over here shiny new thing with wizz bang computer games inside. And the press goes OOOOOOh, Fancy.

And the woes of Alan are once again reset. He must be due for a payrise after this announcement.

Heard from the Townsville refuelled that the 787 Sim in Melbourne is an L3 sim. They won’t allow it in a CAE centre in Sydney. Qantas got lots of nice QLD state money to put sims in Brisbane so can’t simply move sims from there. So now they have to move the Melbourne 78 sim to Brisbane and the Brisbane sim to Sydney. Lots of money saving in the previous decision not to build the sim centre in Sydney.

Ok Dr, yeah they have “farmed out” type ratings but the service provided has been that poor that more “remedial” training is required to get the candidate up to scratch before entering operations here. Yep, pure genius, that is why he earns sooo much money. Give yourself an uppercut.

Once Alliance is brought in house it’s expected they’ll close the NJS BNE Base (similar to Network then PER Base closure). The 717 sim is in BNE at Ansett so the A220 sim is expected to be in MEL which has become their biggest base.

CAE will operate a new 7,000 square-metre CAE Sydney Training Centre that is slated to open in early 2024. In addition, CAE will deploy a new A320 full flight simulator and purchase the Qantas Group’s B787, A330, and B737NG full-flight simulators and associated integrated procedures trainers for the new centre. The Qantas Group’s A380 full-flight simulator and emergency procedures equipment will also be relocated to the new CAE Sydney Training Centre, where they will be operated and maintained by CAE.

https://www.cae.com/news-events/pres...dney-australia

Will there be anything left to outsource soon?

You know there is nothing left to outsource when the CEO resigns.

What if EK or NZ paid more to CAE for the sim time, could Qantas be forced to pay more for the sim time given it’s a 3rd party run organisation.

I know how this ends: cyclics at 0200.

If it’s not bolted down, outsource it. If it is bolted down, unbolt it.

Not that either of those operations would use the CAE sims on OZ BUT (big but) I wouldn't be surprised if QF has a very good deal based on hours that CAE will honor. Fairly standard in the sim business that operators guarentee hours for favorable rates and sim times. Anyone else who comes along would have to guarentee more hours at a higher price to push out an established contract. All that said I'm not privy to any commercial agreements on this topis so anything is possible.