Alaska Airlines Signs License Agreement for Boeing's Virtual Airplane Training Platform

USA – Boeing has announced that Alaska Airlines has signed a formal license agreement for Boeing's Virtual Airplane (VA) training platform during the World Aviation Training Summit (WATS) 2026 in Orlando, Florida. Alaska Airlines has been a key development partner throughout the creation of the platform, transitioning from beta testing to full adoption.

• Virtual Airplane is a device-agnostic, modular training solution enabling pilots to practice high-fidelity, authentic procedures within its Procedures Trainer app anytime, anywhere on computers and tablet devices, while also offering a free-play Flight Management System (FMS) for authentic data entry and exploration.
• The platform is designed to help operators standardize training, reduce simulator familiarization time, and accelerate pilot readiness by providing realistic, repeatable practice outside of traditional full flight simulator sessions.
• The Procedures Trainer is the first module, currently available for Boeing 737 MAX training, with plans to expand to additional Boeing models in the near future.
• Alaska Airlines plans to fully integrate Virtual Airplane into its ground school curriculum to improve training effectiveness and pilot proficiency, complementing traditional simulator sessions with flexible, device-based practice tools.

Statements

• "Alaska Airlines' commitment to innovation and safety has been instrumental in the development of Virtual Airplane. 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," said Chris Broom, Vice President of Commercial Training Solutions at Boeing.
• "Our collaboration with Boeing on Virtual Airplane has allowed us to provide our pilots with flexible, realistic training tools that complement traditional simulator sessions. We look forward to fully integrating this technology into our ground school curriculum to further improve training effectiveness and pilot proficiency," said Jeff Severns, Managing Director of Flight Operations Training at Alaska Airlines.

Source: Boeing