Etihad Airways has selected the Embraer Phenom 100E as a jet trainer for a pilot-training school acquired one year ago, signing a purchase agreement at the EBACE convention on 20 May for four aircraft.
Al Ain-based Etihad Flight College also has options to order three more Phenom 100Es. The list value of all seven aircraft is $30 million.
The former Horizon International Flight Academy now operates 16 single-engine propeller aircraft, including three Diamond DA42s and 13 Cessna 172s. Etihad acquired the flight academy in May 2014 from Mubadala.
The Etihad order will add a twin-engined jet with Garmin-based avionics to the training curriculum starting in the first quarter next year, with 120 Emirati and international pilot cadets entering the school annually.
“The Phenom 100E’s airline-grade technology, performance and reliability make it an ideal training platform to prepare our cadets for line operations,” says Etihad operations chief Richard Hill.
Etihad is now authorised by the UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority to provide milticrew pilot licence (MPL) training programmes.