RAK company helping Singapore fly

A Ras Al Khaimah-based manufacturer of cabin crew training equipment has entered the South East Asian market. This month Spatial Composite Solutions supplied an A320 cabin emergency evacuation trainer for the training centre at Seletar Aerospace Link, which is to open in Singapore next month.

The market value of such equipment is US$750,000. The device can simulate door malfunctions, failures in slides used during evacuations, detect fire and smoke in the cabin and electrical failures. The training centre is run by CAE, a Canadian provider of flight simulators for aircraft and aviation training services. "We are in talks with airlines and see growth potential from the Tiger economies of South East Asia and China," said Joseph McKeever, the chief executive of Spatial Composite Solutions.

"The growth is from the East because of the growing number of low cost airlines there." Last month, the RAK company also supplied an A320 door trainer worth $350,000 to Cebu Pacific Air in the Philippines. The device can train air crew on door operations and how to deal with malfunctions during an emergency. The company said it had received orders worth $2 million in the first half of this year. It did not provide a figure for the first half of 2012. Spatial Composite Solutions has previously bagged orders from Oman Air, Emirates Airline, Etihad Airways and Virgin America.

The air crew training sector is growing as major airlines expand their fleets. In its recent market outlook, Boeing forecasts the number of air traffic passengers to rise 5 per cent annually until 2032, and matching the growth, Boeing expects a long-term demand for 35,280 new planes, worth $4.8 trillion. Etihad is expected to take delivery of its first Boeing 787 and first Airbus A380 towards the end of next year, according to Aviation Week. It also has 10 A380s on order, says the same report.

The airline recently bought seven flight simulators from CAE for $200m to use in the expansion of its Abu Dhabi academy, which is expected to be completed by the end of the year. At its Ras Al Khaimah factory, Spatial Composite Solutions expects to soon begin manufacturing A380 door trainers after signing a licence agreement with Airbus Industries.