News Releases

• 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/ -- 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."

Jeff Severns, Managing Director of Flight Operations Training for Alaska Airlines, added, "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."

Virtual Airplane is a modular suite of training tools, Procedures Trainer is the first module, available now for Boeing 737 MAX training on computers and tablet devices, with plans to expand to additional Boeing models in the near future. This agreement reinforces Boeing's commitment to delivering innovative, scalable training solutions that meet the evolving needs of the aviation industry.

For more information about Virtual Airplane, visit services.boeing.com/virtual-airplane.

A leading global aerospace company and top U.S. exporter, Boeing develops, manufactures and services commercial airplanes, defense products and space systems for customers in more than 150 countries. Our U.S. and global workforce and supplier base drive innovation, economic opportunity, sustainability and community impact. Boeing is committed to fostering a culture based on our core values of safety, quality and integrity.

Boeing Media Relations 
media@boeing.com

SOURCE Boeing