The airline subsidiary of global express delivery company United Parcel service, UPS Airlines, has announced that the company has opened a new flight training facility in Anchorage, Alaska.

The facility, the second of its type for UPS, measures over 27,000 square feet and will house two flight simulators, classrooms and offices.  Operating up to 20 hours each day, it is hoped that the facility will reduce the time spent away from home for training by Anchorage-based pilots, who otherwise would have had to travel to UPS’s Worldport base in Louisville Kentucky for their training.

Commenting on the new training facility, UPS Airline President Bob Lekites pointed out that "Anchorage is ideally positioned to be our gateway to Asia.  With growing small package and freight volume and expanding services in that region, we are excited about the potential continued growth in this city."

Anchorage was specified as a pilot domicile back in December of 2006 with at present 402 crew members based in the city.  That number is expected to grow as the new training facility is established with thirty-five employees, including training instructors, simulator technicians and administrative staff, are based at the new training facility.

The training facility itself was built using a converted hangar at the south end of Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport., the facility housing UPS’s only 747-400 flight simulator along with its second MD-11 simulator. Both aircraft are used by UPS to provide the long-range international lift needed for the company to maintain its global reach.

Source: United Parcel Service

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