AeronautX aims to break duopoly with Amsterdam pilot training centre

Niall Olver-owned company’s new venture will initially operate Bombardier Challenger simulators.

A new entrant hopes to break what it calls a duopoly in business aviation pilot training in Europe by opening an eight-bay simulator centre near Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport.

AeronautX, part of the AX group of companies wholly or part-owned by ExecuJet founder Niall Olver, will open the facility in the first quarter of 2027, initially with a pair of full-flight simulators for Bombardier Challenger 300 and Challenger 650 series aircraft.

However, it intends to add further devices from other manufacturers. “We are planning for up to four and after that we will look to add another roughly every six months,” says Olver, a serial investor in business aviation enterprises who sold his stake in ExecuJet 11 years ago.

Olver sees opportunity for AeronautX to take on established flight-training competitors FlightSafety International and CAE. Source: AX Group

The simulators AeronautX will operate will be built by another company owned by Olver, Axis Simulation in Austria. Another AX business collates the flight data needed to design the simulators by flying its own aircraft.

The business aviation training market in Europe is dominated by FlightSafety International and CAE, which has enjoyed a close relationship with Bombardier and bought its training division complete with simulators, in 2019.

AeronautX’s origins as a training company go back to the 1990s, but until now it has not offered simulator instruction. Olver bought into the business three years ago.

The Amsterdam operation has been accredited by European and UK authorities as an approved training organisation, and Olver says he hopes to add a crucial US qualification next year, which would open its services to most of the world market.

AeronautX will offer initial type rating, base training, recurrent training and type rating instructor qualifications among a range of operator-specific courses.

“For decades, pilot training has been dominated by large, standardised providers,” says Olver. “It is time for a new approach.”

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