Azul Brazilian Airlines Orders a Second Embraer 190 Aircraft Simulator from FlightSafety and Explores the Joint Development of a Training Center in Brazil

July 22, 2010
Azul and FlightSafety have also agreed to explore the joint development of a comprehensive Training Center in Brazil.

LA GUARDIA AIRPORT, NEW YORK (July 21, 2010) – FlightSafety International is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement with Azul Brazilian Airlines for the purchase of a second EMBRAER 190 aircraft simulator.

Azul and FlightSafety have also agreed to explore the joint development of a comprehensive Training Center in Brazil equipped with FlightSafety simulators and other advanced flight training devices.

“FlightSafety’s experience and expertise in aviation training, the quality and reliability of their simulators and ability to support our future requirements for more pilots, made them the ideal choice,” said David Neeleman, Founder of Azul Brazilian Airlines. “We are interested in creating a program in conjunction with FlightSafety designed to encourage and assist Brazilians to become professional pilots.”

“We are pleased that Azul Brazilian Airlines has purchased their second EMBRAER 190 simulator and look forward to expanding our relationship with Azul and FlightSafety’s presence in Brazil,” said Bruce Whitman, President & CEO, FlightSafety International. “This is a clear demonstration of our ability to manufacture, qualify and support advanced technology simulators and our experience in training professional pilots and those who have a desire to pursue a career in aviation.”

The new EMBRAER 190 simulator will be installed at Azul’s current Training Center in São Paulo, Brazil. It will be equipped with FlightSafety’s industry leading electric motion and control loading system and advanced VITAL X visual system and is expected to receive Level D qualification from the ANAC, Brazil’s National Civil Aviation Agency. The first EMBRAER 190 simulator was delivered to Azul by FlightSafety in June 2009.

Azul Brazilian Airlines started operations in December 2008, first connecting the Brazilian cities of Campinas to Porto Alegre and Campinas to Salvador, with daily nonstop flights. Azul now connects 21 of the largest cities in the country: Campinas, Porto Alegre, Curitiba, Maringá, Navegantes, Florianópolis, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Campo Grande, Vitória, Salvador, Recife, Maceió, Fortaleza, Natal, Manaus, Goiânia, Porto Seguro, São Paulo, Cuiabá and, in August, Brasília. Azul also offers bus lines to other key points, taking its number of cities served to 25. Its fleet is the youngest in the country, composed of 10 EMBRAER 190 and 8 EMBRAER 195 aircraft. The company recently announced the purchase of 20 new generation ATR 72-600 aircraft to be delivered starting in November 2011.

FlightSafety International is the world’s premier professional aviation training company and supplier of flight simulators, visual systems and displays to commercial, government and military organizations. The company provides more than a million hours of training each year to pilots, technicians and other aviation professionals from 154 countries and independent territories. FlightSafety operates the world’s largest fleet of advanced full flight simulators at Learning Centers and training locations in the United States, Canada, France, Japan, South Africa and the United Kingdom.