Italian aircraft manufacturer Tecnam announced confirmed orders for 30 aircraft from Chinese Anhui Lantian International Flight Academy (ALIFA) at the biannual Zhuhai International Air Show last week. The ab-initio academy will acquire Tecnam P2006T twin-engine trainers, as well as P2010 models to replace its fleet of legacy training aircraft.
“We are so proud to partner with the Anhui Lantian International Flight Academy,” said Tecnam Global Sales and Marketing Director Walter Da Costa. “ALIFA have a well-earned reputation for delivering flight training to an exceptional standard and we are honored to be key partner in the future development of China’s next-generation of commercial airline pilots.”
With the International Air Transport Association (IATA) predicting that China will displace the U.S. as the world’s largest aviation market by 2022—two years sooner than previously expected—many Chinese aviation academies are working to keep ab-initio students in China to complete their airline pilot training. A large number of the new recruits are still moving to the United States, Europe and Australia to finish training. With pilot demand expected to continue growing in China, many seats are currently still filled by pilots from outside the country.
