The Ansett name originates from Sir Reginald Ansett, the founder of the Australian airline “Ansett Airways” based in Melbourne, Australia. Sir Reginald commenced a small airline operation in 1936 and, following the end of the Second World War, grew the airline into one of the two major domestic carriers in Australia. In the 1990s, the airline expanded internationally to Asian destinations and was renowned for its safety record and quality of service.
The airline ceased operations in 2001, and the Ansett Simulator Pilot Training Centre in Melbourne was purchased and developed into a state-of-the-art training facility, renamed Ansett Aviation Training. The Melbourne facility now operates as the largest independent simulator training centre in the Southern Hemisphere, currently housing 12 full flight simulators that provide training to individual pilots, airlines, and aircraft operators from across Australia and around the world. A Cabin Crew Evacuation Trainer also provides essential training for A320 operators. Over 80 airlines and aircraft operators utilise the Melbourne facilities for pilot type ratings, recurrent training, and associated aviation courses.
The demand for high-quality pilot training overseas led Ansett Aviation Training to establish simulator training centres in Taiwan (2016) and Milan (2017), while also partnering with third-party training centres, including one operating an Ansett simulator on the Sunshine Coast, Australia. These training centres are fully integrated into Ansett’s operations and continue to expand. The Brisbane, Australia centre opened in 2018 and now houses Embraer and Fokker full flight simulators. The most recent addition to the network is our facility at Dubai World Central in the United Arab Emirates, which opened in 2023 and houses both an A320 CEO/NEO full flight simulator and an ATR72 full flight simulator.
