Air Serbia boosts pilot training capacity on Airbus fleet

Air Serbia, the national airline of the Republic of Serbia, has strengthened its pilot training capacity by gaining approval to conduct type rating training on the Airbus A320 and A330 aircraft.

As an Approved Training Organisation (ATO), Air Serbia is able to prepare pilots for the certifications they need to become a first officer or captain on its modern jet fleet, as well as deliver Cross Crew Qualification (CCQ) training for pilots’ transitioning from the A320 to the larger A330 aircraft.

Captains Goran Nižić and Nenad Mitić are the first pilots to undergo Synthetic Flight Instructor training on the A320 aircraft with Air Serbia, and will soon be joined by First Officers Andreja Milosavljević and Predrag Đurić who are completing line training on the A320. Three more captains are scheduled to complete the Type Rating Instructor course on the wide-body A330 by March 2017.

The comprehensive development course takes approximately one month and involves ground training in Belgrade, full flight simulator sessions abroad and line training under supervision on the Air Serbia network.

Dane Kondić, Chief Executive Officer of Air Serbia, said: “Becoming a certified Approved Training Organisation shows that Air Serbia has built up a remarkable amount of experience and technical know-how on Airbus aircraft.

“Our Airbus jets are the backbone of our fleet and by enhancing our in-house training capacity we can better plan for future growth. This ensures Air Serbia has the right pilot resources to achieve our strategic fleet and network objectives.

“Air Serbia maintains the highest industry standards when it comes to the professional development of our flight crew and gaining approval for Airbus A320 and A330 type rating training is testament to that fact.”

In the past, Air Serbia pilots underwent type rating training for the A330 aircraft with member airlines of Etihad Airways Partners including Alitalia in Rome, where 32 pilots received their certification this year as part of preparations for the launch of long-haul flights to New York, and at airberlin, where the training focused on the A320 aircraft type.

Currently Air Serbia has a pool of 242 pilots across its Airbus, ATR and Boeing fleet.