Just hours after officially inaugurating the new Airbus Asia Training Centre (AATC) in Singapore, Airbus installed an A350 XWB full-flight simulator (FFS) at its Miami centre — the facility’s seventh FFS and the first A350 XWB FFS in the Americas. The simulator has received Level-D qualification from both the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). 

American Airlines and TAM are the first customers to train on the new equipment. The new simulator will also train flight crews from Azul, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and other A350 XWB customers from around the world. 

In January, LATAM Airlines Group started operating the first of its 27 A350 XWB aircraft on order, becoming the first operator in the Americas to fly the aircraft. Additionally, Synergy Aerospace, Avianca’s main shareholder and owner of Avianca Brasil, has ordered 10 A350 XWB aircraft and Azul Linhas Aereas has announced its intention to fly new international routes with a fleet of five A350-900s. 

In the U.S., there are currently firm orders for 82 A350 XWB aircraft: American Airlines has 22 A350-900s on order; Delta Air Lines has ordered 25 A350-900s; and United Airlines has 35 A350-1000s on order. 

The Miami and Singapore centres complement other Airbus training facilities in Toulouse, Beijing, Hamburg and Bangalore.