MONTREAL - Taking Advantage of the Train at Home Concept, Pegasus Airlines Trains at IFTC Istanbul and Becomes IFTC’s First Golden Airline Mileage Customer in Less than a Year

IFTC Istanbul, the training arm of the Gozen Holding, today announced that Pegasus Airlines has reached 3,000 hours of simulator training time making the Turkish airline the largest customer of IFTC. The collaboration between IFTC and Pegasus started a year ago after Pegasus decided to train closer to its ops base at the brand new IFTC training centre. The training figure will grow with aircraft deliveries at Pegasus to reach 5,000 hours per year in two years time.

The Turkish training organization provides a unique and complete training offering for both A320 and 737-NG to airlines and pilots in the region; it is equipped with four Mechtronix FFS X(TM) featuring the latest generation simulation components - electric motion base, LCoS projectors and replication architecture - making it much easier and less costly to own and operate than “classic” simulators. The FFS X(TM) architecture maximizes the use of OEM software for simulated displays and avionics thus significantly reducing aircraft hardware and associated maintenance requirements.

“We are very pleased with the exceptional level of service provided by IFTC; the facilities are brand new and very well equipped with the latest available technology in flight simulation,” said Pegasus Airline Training Director, Capt. Cahit Tasbas. “Over the past twelve months, depending on our needs for recurrent and proficiency checks or initial type-rating, we have used both the Level C and D B737-NG Full Flight Simulators manufactured by Mechtronix; we have been impressed by the visual system.”

“We are thankful to Pegasus Airline for selecting IFTC as its exclusive training partner; the company has an outstanding reputation in the industry and in less than a year Pegasus Airline and Pegasus Flight Academy have become our Golden customer with 3,000 hours of training,” said Cengiz Arbac IFTC General Manager. “Our experience with Pegasus has been great and we have worked hand in hand to customize training scenarios when needed. We look forward to continuing our business relationship with them in the longer term.”

About International Flight Training Centre (IFTC)

IFTC was established in 2007 as the training arm of the Gozen Group. Based in Istanbul, Turkey IFTC is a fully approved Type Rating Training Organization (TRTO) specializing in providing flight crew training services for A320 and B737-NG. High quality training courses are delivered by an experienced team of instructors and examiners and can be tailored to meet specific aircraft or operational requirements for all operators in the region. The Gozen Group, founded back in 1979 by Mekin Gozen and Mete Bozyigit, has been operating as Supervision & Representation Company, in accordance with the regulation of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) supplying ground services to more than 85 companies in the field of epresentation, fuel, supervision, brokerage and security. The company is fully licensed by the Civil Aviation Authority of Turkey and all relevant government authorities. The headquarters are located in Istanbul with offices at every major international airport through Turkey - Adana, Ankara, Antalya, Dalaman, Bodrum and Izmir.

About Pegasus Airlines

Pegasus Airlines was established in 1990 as a joint venture between Aer Lingus, Silkar Yatirim and Net Holding, with its head office located in Istanbul. It was taken over by ESAS Holding in late 2005. This gave the airline a great growth momentum. Since its first commercial flight in May 1990, the airline has grown from a fleet of two aircraft, to a fleet of 20, which includes the very latest new generation Boeing 737/800s and A-320s. In 17 successful years, Pegasus Airlines has become a leading scheduled airline in Turkey. With a fleet of 10 Boeing 737-800, 2 Boeing 737-400, 3 Boeing 737-500 and 5 A-320s (Operated by Izair, its sister company), the airline operates domestic and international scheduled flights, from Turkey to 99 destinations in 17 countries.

Source: Mechtronix Systems Inc.

IFTC Istanbul: Capt. Cengiz Arbac, General Manager, +90-212-463-0900, c.arbac(at)iftc.aero; Pegasus Airlines: Ozlem Ersoylu Mutluer, Marketing Manager, +90-212-697-7777 ext 2608, ozlem.mutluer(at)flypgs.com