Xfly Flight Academy – Patria unique program takes off

Tampere, Finland – Xfly Flight Academy announces the kick-off of a Multi-Crew Pilot License (MPL) program for aspiring pilots in the Finnish location of Tampere, where the premises of the Finnish PATRIA are located. The MPL program is a great opportunity for driven future pilots to receive top-notch training.

The MPL program, designed ad hoc in co-operation with the Finnish Patria and the Estonian Xfly Flight Academy, is committed topreparing cadets for a career as commercial airline pilots. The MPL program is conducted in the modern and well-equipped premises of PATRIA Finland and partly in Spain. The cadets are guaranteed a job after graduation. Those admitted to the professional training program are set to graduate in 18 months, after which they will start flying fleet with passengers on ATR-s under the brand of Xfly, a major capacity provider airline of Europe.

One of the cadets admitted, Oskari Järvelä, shares his excitement about the opportunity: “I have been dreaming of a pilot´s job for as long as I can remember myself. I was bitten by the aviation bug in an early childhood as my mother was a cabin crew member. I feel privileged having a chance to train with Xfly Flight Academy and look forward to starting my career as a pilot,” Järvelä expresses his joy. Driven in pursuing his goal of becoming a professional pilot the cadet left his hometown Helsinki for Tampere.

“Co-operation with Patria has exceeded all expectations. It is common practice in aviation to either build an own aviation academy, or alternatively constitute programs in partnership with experienced and reputable market players like we have done in this case,“ Toomas Uibo, the Head of Marketing, Communication and Sustainability of Xfly and Nordica airlines comments.

The manager explains that many airlines have their own flight schools. However, instead of building a new educational organization and investing resources into it, Xfly and Nordica prefer focusing on core activities in order to perform in partners’ benefit. “Concentrating on core businesses is a guarantee for our strategic partners, for whom we operate PSOs, charters and ACMI flights,” Uibo defines the company’s success. 

“The ATR72 MPL program for Xfly is a great addition to Patria´s existing MPL portfolio. We are extremely pleased to start the training of Xfly´s future copilots today, and are convinced that they will be a great asset for the airline once they have passed the rigorous training program – perhaps the first ATR72 MPL program in the whole world. We share our MPL experience with great excitement with the dynamic and international team of Xfly,” Mats Warstedt, Patria´s SVP for Market Area Nordics says.

“We are proud to collaborate with Patria – a reputable role player of the industry on the European continent. In addition to having over 100 years of experience in aviation and defense, their flight school has the best instructors to cooperate with. It is important to note that aviation academies have varying levels of quality and not all academy alumni are guaranteed jobs after graduation in other academies,” Uibo, a pilot and flight instructor himself, portrays the future of their graduates.  The cadets in the program are promised a job with Xfly after graduation, giving them a great start to their careers. Perfect for those utterly passionate about aviation he says.

Patria is an international provider of defense, security and aviation life cycle support services, pilot training and technology solutions. Patria provides its aerospace and military customers with equipment availability, continuous performance development as well as selected intelligence, surveillance and management system products and services. Patria’s mission is to give its customers confidence in all conditions, and the vision is to be the number one partner for critical operations on land, sea and air. Patria has several locations including Finland, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, Estonia, Latvia and Spain. Patria employs 3,000 professionals and is owned by the State of Finland (50.1%) and Norwegian Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace AS (49.9%). Patria owns 50% of Nammo, and together these three companies form a leading Nordic defense partnership.

The Nordic Aviation Group is a state-owned aviation company owning two airline brands, Nordica and Xfly and is an employer to nearly 700 specialists. The group provides PSO services, operates for mayor European airlines under long-term ACMI contracts and flies charter flights, constituting the biggest opportunities in the group’s pipeline. The company cooperates in partnership with airlines such as SAS, TAP, Marabu and Cypros Airways. The group has bases in Tallinn, Vilnius, Stockholm, Aarhus, Copenhagen, Turku, Lisbon, Sofia and soon also in Munich and Hamburg. The group’s fleet consists of ATR72-600s (70 seats), CRJ900s (90 seats) and an Airbus A320-type aircraft (180 seats). Three Airbus A320neo aircraft will be added to the fleet in a month time. By the second quarter of 2023, the group’s fleet will reach 22 aircraft. 

For more information on Xfly Flight Academy and its MPL program, visit www.flightacademy.ee or www.patriagroup.com.