It apparently isn’t enough for Boeing to be building the airplanes that the next generation of airline pilots will be flying. The airliner maker now plans to train the pilots who fly those airplanes as well. At least it seems that way. In truth, Boeing has been offering training for years, through its Boeing Flight Services program. But following the company’s recent projection that the world will need half a million new airline pilots over the next 20 years, it takes on renewed significance, especially on the heels of an announcement that it has entered into an agreement to provide training to students at the Dubai-based Emirates Aviation College.
One Boeing company familiar to GA pilots, Jeppesen, will play a key role in that agreement by providing the ab initio training software for those students as Boeing works toward getting its total flight training program in place. That program will move students from primary training through jet transition and then take them through completion of a type rating for a jet. We’ll leave it to you to guess what brand of airplane that type rating will be for.
