A Kissimmee-based pilot training company is looking to hire Airbus A320 simulator instructors for brand-new training operations in France and the United Kingdom, marking its first push into European flight training. AeroStar Training Services, which is headquartered at Kissimmee Gateway Airport in Osceola County, is recruiting FAA airline transport pilot-qualified A320 simulator instructors and examiners as it builds out partnerships with simulator operators in Morlaix, France, and London Luton, England.
According to afm.aero, AeroStar is a U.S. FAA Part 141 and Part 142 pilot training organization that has developed its new overseas training activity with simulator partners ICARE in France and Avion in the UK. The company announced its partnership with ICARE in April 2026 and its agreement with Avion the following month at London Luton Airport, per the same report. AeroStar's Kissimmee simulator infrastructure already includes Level D Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 full flight simulators, and the company says it also uses partner simulator devices in Miami and other locations as part of its developing European network.
What AeroStar Is Looking For
Candidates for the instructor and examiner roles must hold an FAA airline transport pilot certificate with an A320 type rating and have at least two years of employment with an FAA Part 121 carrier, according to afm.aero. AeroStar is also seeking applicants with simulator training and evaluation experience along with strong communication and collaboration skills. That Part 121 airline-experience requirement lines up with federal rules that let Part 142 training centers hire experienced airline crew members as simulator instructors without requiring them to hold a traditional FAA Certified Flight Instructor certificate, according to Ask A CFI.
Building Out a French Training Site
In Morlaix, France, AeroStar and ICARE are planning practical training around ICARE's A320ceo/neo Level D full flight simulator, with the two companies aiming to develop FAA-approved ATP-CTP, ATP initial, and A320 type-rating training there, afm.aero reports. ICARE also operates an A320 FNPT II MCC device at the same site. The simulator itself has a well-documented pedigree: ICARE contracted Austrian manufacturer AMST in November 2022 to build the AIRFOX Level D A320 simulator installed in Morlaix, and the device received its official European Union Aviation Safety Agency qualification in December 2023, according to a statement from Icare. The simulator supports both CEO and NEO engine variants, including CFM56-5B4 and LEAP-1A26 configurations, per afm.aero.
ICARE itself has an interesting backstory in European aviation training. The organization was originally founded in 1991 as the training division for regional carrier Brit Air and later operated as Hop! Training before undergoing a management buyout in October 2022 that turned it into an independent training organization unaffiliated with Air France-KLM, according to the Halldale Group. That buyout was reportedly aimed at diversifying ICARE's business beyond regional jet training into narrowbody Airbus platforms, which fits with the company's current push into A320 training with AeroStar. AeroStar had initially targeted a late-second-quarter 2026 start for the ICARE training, subject to FAA approval, afm.aero notes.
A First-of-Its-Kind Setup in the UK
The London Luton arrangement with Avion is notable for a different reason: it would create the first FAA-approved Airbus A320 type rating and ATP-CTP training location in the United Kingdom, according to Halldale Group's coverage of the deal, which was announced at the 2026 World Aviation Training Summit in Orlando. That would let UK- and European-based pilots earn FAA ratings without traveling to the United States. Avion's Luton center operates one A320neo Level D full flight simulator at London Luton Airport, qualified by both EASA and the UK Civil Aviation Authority, and the device was engineered and manufactured by Avion in the Netherlands.
Avion CEO Prachee van Brandenburg pointed to unfulfilled demand for UK-based FAA training as a key driver behind the partnership, Halldale Group reported. The Luton simulator already logs more than 5,000 training hours a year, divided into five four-hour simulator slots per day, per the same outlet. AeroStar and Avion plan to deliver FAA A320 type-rating, ATP-CTP, and other FAA programs at the Luton site, with training expected to begin later in 2026, subject to approval, according to afm.aero.
Why the Timing Matters
The federal ATP-CTP course AeroStar plans to deliver abroad isn't optional for pilots chasing an airline job. Under 14 CFR § 61.156, enacted in 2014, all pilots seeking an FAA multiengine Airline Transport Pilot certificate must complete an ATP-CTP course covering at least 30 hours of academic classroom instruction and 10 hours in flight simulation training devices, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Congress mandated that bridge requirement under the Airline Safety and Federal Aviation Administration Extension Act of 2010. Separately, FAA regulations under Part 142 permit complete pilot qualification programs, including initial type ratings and recurrent checks, to be conducted entirely in Level C and Level D full-flight simulators without requiring hours in an actual aircraft, provided training centers operate under FAA-approved core curricula.
The expansion also lands amid a persistent pilot shortage in the U.S. airline industry. Aviation consulting firm Oliver Wyman projects the shortage will hit its maximum supply-demand gap of roughly 24,000 pilots in 2026, remaining above 17,000 through 2032, according to AirAdvisor, driven in part by mandatory retirements at age 65 and regional airline attrition. Boeing's 2026 Pilot and Technician Outlook goes further, projecting a global commercial aviation need for 674,000 new pilots over the next 20 years, with North American carriers accounting for 127,000 of those positions, per AVweb.
AeroStar's Kissimmee Roots
AeroStar Training Services was founded in 2008 by commercial airline pilots and has kept its headquarters and FAA Part 142 flight training facility at Kissimmee Gateway Airport, operating out of Hangar 9 at 3954 Merlin Drive, according to AOPA Airports. The FAA currently lists AeroStar's Part 142 certificate, designated 5AEX, as active. Back home, the company offers ATP-CTP, Airbus A320 and Boeing 737NG type-rating, recurrent, upgrade, and other advanced pilot training programs, with the France and UK sites set to extend that same FAA-approved curriculum to pilots on the other side of the Atlantic.
