• Alaska Airlines advances pilot training with full adoption of Boeing's Virtual Airplane at WATS
• Enables pilots to practice procedures outside of traditional training environments
ORLANDO, Fla., May 5, 2026 /PRNewswire(opens in a new tab)/ -- Boeing [NYSE: BA] today announced that Alaska Airlines has signed a formal license agreement for Boeing's Virtual Airplane (VA) during the World Aviation Training Summit (WATS) held in Orlando, Florida. Alaska Airlines has been a key development partner throughout the creation and development of Virtual Airplane, providing valuable feedback that helped shape the innovative training platform.
Virtual Airplane is a device-agnostic, modular training solution that enables pilots to practice high-fidelity, authentic procedures within the Procedures Trainer app, anytime, anywhere. The solution supports realistic, repeatable practice while also offering a free‑play Flight Management System (FMS) for authentic data entry and exploration, so operators can standardize training, reduce simulator familiarization time, and accelerate pilot readiness.
"Alaska Airlines' commitment to innovation and safety has been instrumental in the development of Virtual Airplane," said Chris Broom, Vice President of Commercial Training Solutions at Boeing. "We are proud to see this partnership evolve as they move from beta testing to full adoption, leveraging Virtual Airplane to enhance pilot training and operational readiness." (....)