IndiGo expands digital flight training with Skywise

Indian carrier IndiGo has signed an agreement with Skywise to deploy the A320 Virtual Procedure Trainer (VPT), becoming the first airline worldwide to adopt the VPT abnormal and emergency procedure package. This agreement also establishes IndiGo as the first VPT customer in the South Asia region, marking a major milestone in the airline’s pilot training capabilities. The introduction of the VPT marks the latest step in a long-standing collaboration between IndiGo and Airbus flight training solutions, now transitioned into the Skywise digital portfolio. Back in 2021, IndiGo became the first operator in South Asia to adopt MATe Suite (the Mobile Airbus Training experience), currently utilised by its pilot community of 6,300 flight crew members. Through the integration of both Skywise MATe Suite and VPT, the airline completes its end-to-end digital pilot training ecosystem while maintaining the Airbus OEM pedagogical standards. The Skywise VPT is an interactive, cloud-based software using Virtual Reality (VR), built specifically to act as an immersive digital bridge between ground-school classroom theory and Full Flight Simulator (FFS) sessions, allowing pilots to learn and practice standard cockpit procedures, flow patterns, and normal checklists before stepping into a real simulator. IndiGo aims to leverage virtual reality and flat-screen devices for immersive pilot training and to complete their Flight Training ecosystem. Having experienced long-term success with the MATe Suite, IndiGo now chooses to adopt the Skywise VPT, driven by the proven benefits of Airbus OEM’s process-oriented and practical training tools, which stay consistently updated with industry best practices. The adoption of the VPT directly addresses IndiGo’s rapid operational expansion. With plans to train up to 1,000 pilots annually, the airline required an agile, scalable training solution capable of reinforcing both standard procedures and complex abnormal scenarios early in the training continuum. “IndiGo is redefining pilot training on a global stage. Building on their proven success with our Skywise MATe Suite, becoming the first airline worldwide to integrate the VPT abnormal and emergency package completes an immersive, OEM-standard training ecosystem built to match their incredible scale,” said Fabrice Villaumé Head of  Products Portfolio at Skywise. Skywise expands portfolio with enhanced digital flight training solutions Skywise, an Airbus digital services company, announces a major expansion of its portfolio, bringing Airbus’ digital flight training solutions, including the MATe Suite (Mobile Airbus Training experience), the Virtual Procedure Trainer (VPT), and Flight eLearning into the Skywise portfolio. Building on Skywise’s mission to accelerate digital transformation across aviation, this integration brings pilot training into Skywise’s unified digital ecosystem as part of the strategic reorganisation of Airbus’s digital business portfolio launched with the creation of Skywise, the unified company born from the merger of Navblue and Skywise Digital Solutions earlier this year. To enhance user access (training managers, operators) to the solutions, Skywise is deploying a highly flexible hosting platform. Whether supporting aviation training professionals managing curricula or pilots preparing for type rating and recurrent training, this platform simplifies end-user registration and access control while ensuring full service continuity and zero disruption to active customer deployments. Formerly known as the Airbus MATe Suite, the Skywise MATe Suite is an enhanced cloud-based solution for the Airbus A320, A330, and A350 aircraft families. Designed to deliver portable and self-paced distance learning, the solution allows trainees to familiarise themselves with the cockpit layout and master theoretical concepts via System Knowledge Modules (SKM) in an interactive 3D environment. The MATe Suite offers comprehensive coverage of aircraft engines, models, and system differences through dedicated familiarisation briefings, together with certificates of completion.  Trainees can seamlessly track their learning progress and evaluate their aircraft systems knowledge using the built-in Examination System. Designed to optimise Flight Simulation Training Device (FSTD) sessions, Skywise VPT empowers pilots to build procedural knowledge and ‘muscle memory’, from self-paced practice on mobile devices to fully immersive training with Virtual Reality (VR). VPT offers a high-fidelity interactive cockpit, enabling pilots to act intuitively on switches, levers, and aircraft panels with haptic feedback across all phase-of-flight Airbus SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) and abnormal procedures, streamlining pilot preparation before stepping into the simulator. For Editorial Inquiries Contact: Editor Matt Driskill at [email protected] For Advertising Inquiries Contact: Head of Sales Sally Passey at [email protected]