“One of the main challenges we have is ensuring that we have enough pilots who can fly the aircraft. Every pilot, even if they already have Airbus experience, has to go through another training program before they can fly the A350,” says Reinout Verkerk. He himself is captain on KLM’s other new aircraft: the Airbus A321neo.
It is an intensive training that can last from several weeks to up to three months. Only then is a pilot fully trained. The duration of the training depends on the experience the pilot already has on other aircraft from the same manufacturer Airbus.
Challenging scenarios
In addition to learning how to fly the aircraft and all the systems and procedures, the pilots are also trained for challenging scenarios, such as flying with an engine failure or loss of air pressure.
The new quieter and cleaner aircraft must be put into use at the end of 2026, when the first hundred pilots must also have been trained. “After the training we will immediately start flying with passengers, I am really looking forward to that,” says future A350 pilot and instructor Arjan Oskam.