Lufthansa Aviation Training upgrades training fleet in Rostock-Laage

Lufthansa Aviation Training (LAT) is investing in the future. Five new Diamond DA42-VI training aircraft and two simulators of the respective aircraft type will be stationed at the flight training location in Rostock-Laage. They replace the current ten year-old Piper PA-44 training aircraft.

Under the brand name European Flight Academy (EFA), Lufthansa Aviation Training is pooling all Lufthansa Group flight schools in Germany, Switzerland and the U.S. Graduates meet the high standards of Lufthansa Group airlines and benefit from exclusive access to the internal job market. As such, chances to be hired and then to choose between the diverse career options as a pilot within the Lufthansa Group are guaranteed.

The European Flight Academy looks for 500 new pilot students this year for Lufthansa Group airlines. The theoretical part of the training takes place in Bremen, the first practical part in the U.S. Afterwards, the future pilots learn how to fly by using the instruments at EFA-locations in Rostock-Laage and Bremen.

As part of the fleet event for the DA42-VI aircraft at Rostock-Laage airport, Ola Hansson, CEO of LAT, officially presented the new aircraft: “With the investment in our new training aircraft, both LAT and the European Flight Academy are getting ready for future challenges. The strong demand for pilots and the associated growths in the upcoming years confronts us as a flight training school with special requirements. With our state-of-the-art fleet in Phoenix/USA and Rostock-Laage, we offer our student pilots as well as airlines within the Lufthansa Group a product of top quality at marketable conditions, making it unique in this form. The cost structures in Rostock-Laage are an important element for our future direction.”

Amila Spiegel, Director Sales and Marketing, Diamond Aircraft Industries GmbH: “We are happy to be European Flight Academy’s, a brand of Lufthansa Aviation Training, choice for the modernization of their multi-engine fleet in Rostock. The DA42-VI is the perfect solution for safe, modern, low fuel and low noise flight training. We are honored to have been invited to the introduction event of the new DA42-VI fleet in Rostock-Laage and would like to say thank you for a very good and professional collaboration.”

The Diamond DA42-VI is a twin-engined propeller plane of the latest generation. It is equipped with two strong 165 PS diesel engines and offers space for four people. Thanks to its efficient and high-performance engines, the aircraft is well-suited for the EFA pilot training on instruments. In comparison the DA42-VI needs around one-third less fuel at high speed and disposes a 50 per cent climbing performance during a simulated engine failure. Equipped with an anti-icing system, the new aircraft type can even perform training flights during moderate icing conditions. A weather radar ensures that the flight can be operated even during windy and thundery cloud formation by avoiding these weather zones. Both aspects lead to another increase of reliability when it comes to the course management. Due to easily exchangeable components and the impact of digitalization, the maintenance work decreases significantly. The enhanced reach allows to cover an increased radius of airfields for training purposes and thus helps to decrease the noise level in the Rostock-Laage area.