The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Perth firm to become largest pilot academy in Scotland with funds
ACS AVIATION: £2m investment to expand training fleet
“The demand for pilots is growing rapidly worldwide and airlines are increasingly looking for new staff for their cockpits. GRAEME FRATER
Perth-based ACS Aviation plans to become the largest training academy in Scotland with a £2 million investment.
Based at Perth Airport, ACS is forecasting record sales this year as it trained more than 100 pilots.
The firm now plans to invest more than £2m in additional flight simulators and twin-engine training aircraft that will take its fleet to more than 20.
Chief executive Graeme Frater said the demand for pilots was predicted to soar over the next two decades.
He said: “Europe accounts for 34% of global air traffic and according to Boeing projections this will grow by 113% by 2037, meaning the demand for pilots is only set to increase.
“With that in mind we have focused on increasing our flight training capabilities over the past year and thanks to our industry leading fleet and training concepts, this has resulted in a 40% uplift in the number of pilots trained.
“Since we launched our flight training academy in 2007 we have successfully developed relationships with a number of European airlines including easyJet, Loganair, Jet2.com, Eastern Airways and Stobart Air, and we aim to grow this portfolio over the next 12 months.”
ACS forecasts a 26% increase in revenues for the year ending March 31, from £1.9 million last year to £2.4m.
The expansion of the business has resulted in a three-fold increase in the ACS Aviation workforce from 13 to 40 over the past three years.
Alongside its flight training academy, the company also operates ACS Engineering, an aircraft maintenance services provider, specialising in aircraft and helicopter maintenance and engineering support.
“Moving forward we are not only looking to grow our engineering and flight training services at Perth Airport but we are also in talks with several other airports about expanding our aviation operations across the UK,” Mr Frater added.
To help with this expansion, ACS is working with Scottish Enterprise on several projects including aircraft engineering modern apprenticeships and graduate opportunities.
ACS Aviation will host Scotland’s Pilot Careers and Flight Training Seminar at the Holiday Inn, Glasgow Airport, on Saturday.
Mr Frater added: “The demand for pilots is growing rapidly worldwide and airlines are increasingly looking for new staff for their cockpits.
“We know that there are many budding pilots out there who are perhaps unsure how to pursue a career in aviation so we thought the best way would be to bring everyone involved in the industry together at one event.
“Our previous two seminars have been extremely popular and I am sure the 2020 event will be just as successful.”