Originally Posted by
AeroCrewSolut
Delta has delayed the delivery of the initial 3 717's. They will now be taking delivery of 6 starting in October. The bigger issue for Delta is that Boeing has decided to move their entire Seattle sim center to Miami. It will take Boeing 60 days to move the 717 sim from SEA to MIA. The training department is freaking out because of the loss of available sim time. Delta was able to move the DC-9 sim and get certification in 21 days and they are upset that Boeing is taking this long. The other 717 sims available worldwide are located in Stockholm or Brisbane. Sign me up for that assignment
. I guess the Hawaiian pilots now have to go to Brisbane for recurrent training.
Boeing moving flight simulators from Renton training center to Miami
By BRIAN BECKLEY
Renton Reporter Assistant Editor
March 9, 2013 · 1:10 PM
The Boeing Co. on Friday announced plans to move its flight simulators out of their longtime home in Renton and consolidate them in a single location in Miami.
Boeing Flight Services spokesman Jim Condelles said the "vast majority" of local jobs would not be impacted, but approximately 100 local employees may be affected, including possible relocations or redeployments to other divisions.
"It's just not clear," Condelles said.
But Condelles also insisted the three-story building on Oakesdale Avenue, south of Grady Way, will not be shutting down and the company would not be moving out.
"The vast majority of people that support our training business . . . are staying right here," he said, adding that about 500 people work in the building.
The simulator consolidation is part of a larger Commercial Airplanes focus on customer commitments, stepping up efforts to meet market demand for Boeing products, services and support as airplane delivery rates increase, according to a press release on the move.
The plans are for Boeing to relocate all full-flight simulators used to train pilots and other devices from Renton to Miami, starting with two 787 training suites. Condelles said not only was the Miami facility twice as large as Renton's but it was only half-filled. The Miami facility is one of the largest commercial flight training campuses in the world, but only 11 of the building's 20 simulator bays are in use.
On top of that, Condelles called Miami the "preferred location" for many customers, especially those based in Latin America as well as the United States, Middle East, Europe and elsewhere. With this consolidation, Miami will be established as the pro forma flight training location for Boeing in the Americas.
"This is about getting close to our customers, doing what is right for them and bringing them the best product support and services in the industry," said Sherry Carbary, vice president, Flight Services, Commercial Aviation Services, in a press release. "If we are going to better serve our customers and meet training commitments and airplane deliveries as we ramp up on rate, the time to do this is now."
Condelles said the decision to move the simulators now also makes sense because the company's 787 Dreamliner is presently grounded by the FAA due to issues with its batteries, so there is less demand at the moment for training on the aircraft.
The move is expected to begin next week and the simulators are expected to be set up and ready for use in Miami by this summer.
Originally Posted by
johnso29
Are you trying to persuade pilots senior to you to bid ATL 717? It might just work. Is it wrong that I find this delay amusing?
Going to Europe would be fun but if the sim is moved ASAP and ready for the summer then are they really loosing much time? Too me, sounds like the dreams of April/May conversion are going to be an even bigger
