Lufthansa Aviation Training (LAT) is scheduled to buy 25 new Cirrus SR 20 aircraft for its flight training school in Phoenix, Arizona. The total investment volume will amount to approximately EUR 11.5 million.
Since the year 1972, trainee pilots at Lufthansa Aviation Training’s U.S. base have been acquiring their skills in single motor F33A Bonanza aircraft from the manufacturer Beechraft. "With the new single motor Cirrus SR 20, the trainees will not only be flying aircraft equipped with all the latest features, it will also mean a 50 percent cut in operational and maintenance costs," said Rainer Hiltebrand, CEO Lufthansa Aviation Training.
Every year, approximately 350 pilots are trained at the flight training school in Arizona. The majority of them become pilots for the Lufthansa Group. In addition to this, the German Armed Forces, and other airlines such as KLM and All Nippon Airways (ANA), send their pilots to Phoenix for training. Delivery of the new training aircraft will start in October. All new aircraft should be received in Arizona by February 2018. They will carry the logo of the European Flight Academy, which bundles all training schools in Germany, Switzerland and the USA.
A decision what will happen to the Bonanzas after the rollover has not been made. «We will probably offer them for sale to former students of Phoenix,» said Hiltebrand. «For many of our former trainees who are now pilots, there is a very high emotional value attached to these aircraft.
