French simulator manufacturer Alsim has reported a record year in 2018. As technology advances, worldwide travel growth continues and global aviation pilot shortages persist, it believes flight training organisations (FTOs) are turning to simulation to help fulfill their flight training needs.

Of the all-time high of over 40 Alsim simulators sold in 2018, many were purchased by established clients. This includes ALX owner Egnatia Aviation in Greece which, after more than a decade of operating its simulator and partnerships with Aegean Airlines, Wizzair and Iraqi Airways, purchased a record number of six Alsim devices at once: four AL250s and two Airliners.

Other current clients also increased their number of Alsim devices in 2018. Aeropyrenees in France, Super T Aviation in Canada and Tayside Aviation in Scotland, UK, chose to upgrade their existing AL200s to more current Alsim devices with newer avionics, visuals, operating systems and other advanced features. Astonfly in France purchased its third AL250 in 12 months in addition to investing in new buildings and aircraft to properly train its 120 new students every year. Montair in Canada and Trimaille Aero Formation in France both selected Alsim for the third time last year. The schools are experiencing tremendous growth in their ATPL programmes and rely heavily on their simulators for all levels of training, from PPL to MCC.

Last year Alsim also welcomed numerous new clients from around the world. Sales were announced to FTOs located on six continents: Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe as well as North and South America. It has expanded into new countries and, for the first time, there are Alsim simulators in Columbia, Hungary and Ireland, bringing its geographic presence to over 50 countries.

With this exponential growth, the company is developing its infrastructure to ensure its current and future customers are well taken care of and to ensure its innovation continues. Alsim has hired more than a dozen staff in all departments across France, China and the US. It has also acquired extra space near its headquarters in France and developed future production plans in the US to help support and grow the American markets.

Alsim will celebrate its 25th anniversary this year and looks forward to the first Airliner being installed.