Spanish flight school FlyBy has officially become Spain’s largest flight school, registering more operations than any other pilot training provider in the country, according to Spanish airport operator Aena.
Five years ago FlyBy was facing bankruptcy — with just 10 cadets and nine staff — when it was bought out by a new management team. Having been turned around, the school has subsequently trained over 530 cadets, and invested millions of Euros into new aircraft, simulators and training programs.
FlyBy’s growth has been driven by two key business developments: the first being ongoing investment into infrastructure; the second being the expansion of the company’s global reach, through the development of training packages that cater specifically to the international market.
FlyBy’s investment in recent years has seen the school purchase eight new trainer aircraft (four PS28 Cruisers, two Tecnam P2006T, a Super Decathlon an d a Metroliner) and two new simulators (an Entrol Airbus A320 simulator with PBN and MCC certification and a Tecnam P2006T SoftekSim), taking the total fleet to 21 aircraft and two simulators.
From a global reach perspective, nine of the school’s 10 cadets in 2015 were Spanish; today, just one in five cadets are Spanish, with FlyBy training cadets from 83 counties around the world, including from counties as far afield as Tanzania and Brunei.
At the heart of this international focus has been the development a cadet program specifically catered to a broad range of cultures and requirements — delivered by a team of international staff, including welfare staff and translators, that make every cadet, irrespective of origin, feel welcome.
Having secured its status as Spain’s largest flight school, the school’s ongoing growth strategy will see further invest in both its infrastructure and training courses.
The school is in the process of expanding internationally with plans to open another flight school outside of Spain. FlyBy is also set to expand its university degree program, and to expand horizontally by offering new types of aviation training, including a new aircraft maintenance training program.
Alex Alvarez, CEO of FlyBy, said, “It is a testament to the incredible work of the management, staff and cadets at FlyBy that we are today Spain’s largest flight school, having invested heavily and established a truly global footprint.
“We refuse to be complacent and look forward to further investing in our expansion and growth – starting with our ambitions to open a second flight school outside of Spain., as well as new training courses and programs."
