Boeing and Alaska Airlines has signed a formal agreement to purchase Virtual Airplane (VA), marking a significant milestone in the partnership between the two companies. The agreement was signed during the World Aviation Training Summit (WATS) in Orlando, Florida.
Alaska Airlines has been a key development partner since the early stages of the Virtual Airplane programme, providing valuable feedback that helped shape the training platform. Following a successful beta-testing phase, the airline will now fully integrate Virtual Airplane into its ground school training curriculum to strengthen pilot procedural training and operational readiness.
Virtual Airplane is a device-agnostic immersive training solution that enables pilots to practise authentic normal procedures anytime and anywhere. The platform helps airlines standardise training, reduce simulator familiarisation time and improve pilot preparedness, while also delivering flexible and engaging learning experiences.
Chris Broom, Vice President of Commercial Training Solutions at Boeing, commented on the partnership, “Alaska Airlines’ commitment to innovation and safety has been instrumental in the development of Virtual Airplane. We are proud to see this partnership evolve as they move from beta testing to full adoption, leveraging Virtual Airplane to enhance pilot training and operational readiness.”
“Our collaboration with Boeing on Virtual Airplane has allowed us to provide our pilots with flexible, realistic training tools that complement traditional simulator sessions. We look forward to fully integrating this technology into our ground school curriculum to further improve training effectiveness and pilot proficiency” added Jeff Severns, Managing Director of Flight Operations Training for Alaska Airlines.
