APATS 2025: The Summit Sessions Remains in Synch with the Latest Asia-Pacific and Global Developments

At the D-19 mark, many of our community colleagues are preparing to attend APATS (Asia Pacific Aviation Training Summit) 2025 at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore. The agenda and sessions are locked in for summit workshops and the pilot, maintenance, ATO and cabin crew streams.

APATS 2025 will elevate and present challenges and opportunities across the civil aviation training and safety verticals for discussion. More significant, the summit is the forum for community professionals in the expansive region to generate and offer collaborative solutions to issues.

This is another glance at how APATS 2025’s agenda is relevant and synchronized to community developments across the region.

AI

On 25 August (APATS Day1), Cedric Paillard (Airline Pilot Club) and Ascanio Russo (EASA) will lead the workshop AI in Aviation Training: From Hype to Hands-On. The timing of the workshop is perfect given the uptick in AI use cases for training and safety at Asia-Pacific civil aviation organizations. In one instance, this 24 July Air New Zealand announced it is working with OpenAI to expand the use of AI across the airline, aiming to boost efficiency and enhance customer outcomes. Early areas of exploration include improving customer self-service experiences and enabling safe, responsible integrated planning across airline maintenance and operations. As another vital data point, other Asia-Pacific-based airlines, most notably Qantas, are advancing down their roadmaps to use AI, big data, cloud, IoT and other technology enablers across their enterprises.

More eVTOLs

There is a surge in eVTOL sales and contracts through Asia-Pacific. For instance, this 23 July, the Shanghai-based eVTOL OEM Volant Aerotech announced it will deliver Thailand's Pan Pacific Co Ltd with 500 eVTOL aircraft. China National Aero-technology International Engineering Corp is responsible for the low-altitude infrastructure support. This was the largest international single order to date in China's passenger eVTOL market. And, the training part of eVTOL acquisition life cycle? Well, look no further than APATS for insights on this S&T segment as, in one case, U-Wing Aviation Technology Co. Ltd. will be an exhibitor. The company’s S&T team is fresh off the unveiling of an eVTOL simulator at another industry event.

Recruit, Train and Retain the Workforce 

Boeing’s 2025 Pilot and Technician Outlook (PTO) was released this 22 July. While it quantifies the pilots, maintainers and cabin crew members needed to sustain our industry through 2044, comments from Chris Broom, vice president, Commercial Training Solutions, Boeing Global Services, are also an attention-getter. The executive, in part, calls out the technologies being brought to bear to support its workforce’s training audiences and by extension, the airline’s customers. The document should be a topic for discussion in the summit’s formal sessions and informal, exhibition floor interactions.