Nok Air, ANA Holdings to open “Pan Am Thailand” Pilot Training Company in September 2014

BANGKOK, Thailand (August 8, 2014)—Nok Air is pleased to announce a joint venture with ANA Holdings to launch the Pan Am International Flight Training Center (Thailand) Limited – ‘Pan Am Thailand’ – slated for operations in September 2014. The world-class pilot simulator training center will open with an A320 simulator, with plans to expand to a total of four simulators – two A320s and two Boeing 737NGs. The first Boeing 737NG simulator will open in January 2015, followed by the second in April 2015. This joint venture forms a strong partnership between Nok Air, ANA Holdings, and Assumption University, the first international Thai university which recently set up a new flight training department for students with no flight experience.

By 2030 approximately 230,000 pilots will be required, which is 4.5 times more than current pilot numbers (Source: ICAO “Global and Regional 20-year Forecasts”). “South East Asia’s aviation market is rapidly expanding and there is a need for highly trained flight crew. The Pan Am Thailand will position Thailand as the prime training ground providing the highest quality training for pilots,” states Patee Sarasin, CEO of Nok Air.

“For Nok Air, the joint venture means that we are able to cut our pilot training costs by up to 50%, and proudly providing world-class flight simulator training in Thailand,” Sarasin added. The flight training center marks the first step in a relationship between Nok Air and ANA Holdings that both parties plan to continually develop. The joint venture will benefit both Nok Air and ANA Holdings, in which the Group is building on the success of ANA Holding’s Pan Am flight academy operations in North and South America, which it acquired in August 2013.