From Ballygarvan to billionaires: Cork flight school to train private jet pilots

Atlantic Flight Training Academy has announced a new pilot training partnership with GlobeAir. from left: Davide Redini GlobeAir Line Training Commander, Mark Casey AFTA Founder, CEO and Head of Training, Bernhard Fragner GlobeAir CEO and Frederico Bevilacqua GlobeAir VP Flight Operations.

From the skies over Ballygarvan to ferrying the high-flying rich and famous - a flight training school in Cork has landed a lucrative deal to train pilots for one of Europe’s top private jet charter companies.

Atlantic Flight Training Academy (AFTA), based near Cork Airport, will train cadets for Austrian firm, GlobeAir, which offers exclusive private jet hire to politicians, diplomats, business leaders, musicians and elite sports stars, including soccer players, golfers and F1 drivers.

It also offers bespoke travel experiences for those with deep pockets, carving out a niche for itself in the luxury travel market by offering all-in-one bespoke travel experiences using its fleet of 21 private jets which connect cities like London, Geneva, Zurich, Paris, Nice, and Milan with small airfields that are difficult to reach, such as St Moritz or Lugano.

Under the new pilot training partnership, GlobeAir’s cadets will undergo an extensive 18-month training programme in Cork and Waterford airports and in the skies above Cork for their future careers as commercial pilots in 2023 and 2024.  

The successful student cadets will train in AFTA’s next-generation G1000 NXI glass cockpit Cessna 172’s for the initial phase of their flight training, followed by the flight school’s twin-propellor Diamond DA42 NG aircraft and then advancing to its B737 NG and 737-8200 simulators for the advanced phases.

AFTA’s managing director, Mark Casey, said they are very proud to have been selected by GlobeAir to train their cadets.

Our new partnership with GlobeAir is testament to AFTA's successful record of helping leading global airlines to train their pilots to the highest possible standards in a training environment designed to challenge and enhance their cadets flying skills.

GlobeAir’s CEO, Bernhard Fragner, said they carefully selected AFTA as their pilot training partner because of their high standards and commitment to excellence. 

AFTA is approved by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and has its headquarters at Cork Airport with a secondary base at Waterford Airport.

It is an Enterprise Ireland client company and has since 1995 trained over 2,300 graduates who are now working with the world’s leading airlines, including Ryanair, Air Astana, Pegasus Airlines, Aer Lingus, easyJet, British Airways, Turkish Airlines, Emirates, Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways and Cathay Pacific.

It also offers a course with Munster Technological University (MTU) which can lead to a career as a commercial pilot.