French aircraft simulator training provider Simaero is set to launch a new pilot training facility, with a planned investment of $100 million that will enable expansion to eight full-flight simulators over the coming years.

Equipped with a single Airbus A320 full-flight simulator, Simaero plans to expand capacity at its training centre in Gurugram progressively, with CEO Nicolas Moute saying the company expects to add four to six simulators over the next five years, depending on demand from airline customers in the country and the region.

“Our strategy is to have regional hubs. We have [ simulator training centres in] Europe, Africa, China. India was very early on identified as a very significant regional hub for South Asia,” Moute told The Hindu. Simaero has customers across 80 countries and oversees a network of 33 simulators.

It will also explore presence in two additional cities in the time to come.

Its Indian clients currently include cargo airline Bluedart Aviation and regional carrier Star Air. The company is also exploring presence in two more cities beside the national capital region.

Besides pilot training, Simaero’s portfolio includes simulator upgrades and maintenance, as well as “train-the-trainer” programmes designed to help customers develop and certify their own instructor workforce, according to the company’s CEO.

“Localisation is very important to us. We want to develop India as a Centre For Excellence where pilot training is one vertical, but we also have simulator engineering which provides upgrading and relocating of simulators. We want to develop this technological knowledge here through technology transfer,” the CEO said