VILNIUS, Lithuania -- The aviation training company BAA Training has secured financing for its global expansion plans from UK Export Finance (UKEF) and the U.S.-based Apple Bank for Savings. BAA and its fellow Avia Solutions Group subsidiary ASG Asset Management were involved in signing the agreements with the financial institutions.

The EUR31 million deal will facilitate the acquisition of 10 new flight simulators manufactured by L3Harris Technologies. The simulators will include two Boeing 737 MAX full flight simulators (FFS) and eight fixed base training devices (FTD Level 2) for the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 families. The simulators will be installed at BAA's new facility in Barcelona, which is known as BAA Training Spain.

Jonas Janukenas, CEO of Avia Solutions Group, stated, "Signing such a financing agreement as this one during the global crisis affecting the entire aviation industry is out of the ordinary. It emphasizes the trust and confidence put into BAA Training that strengthens its position on the global stage."

"The concluded agreements allow for further successful implementation of BAA Training's expansion plan in Europe and Asia. We view this achievement as especially important in our company's history. This guarantee received from the international financial institutions is very significant as it directly positions BAA Training as a trustworthy global player in the aviation training industry. It also allows us to compete with the most prominent market players and seek even larger expansion in new markets,"ý said BAA Training CEO Egle Vaitkeviciute.

With the agreement in place, BAA intends to shift from providing solely FFS services to a mix of FFS and FTD devices. The company said that this will enable Type Rating training programs to be split between the two types of simulation devices. Previously, the entire Type Rating program was completed solely on an FFS, which is typically more costly.

Source: BAA Training