Interview with Christos Diamantopoulos of Cockpit4u
Christos Diamantopoulos is the owner of Cockpit4u, a German Approved Training Organisation (ATO) based in Berlin. They offer type ratings training and additional courses to pilots. Cockpit4u has been a client of ProSim for many years and uses the software for the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737. “ProSim is young, fresh, flexible and open to new ideas. They are definitely the right partner for us!”
What does Cockpit4u do for their customers?
“Cockpit4u is one of the leading, international acting ATOs in the world. We give trainings to pilots to revalidate their type rating for airplane manufacturers Airbus, Boeing and Bombardier. Pilots come to us to sit down for a check right in the simulator with an examiner. We support and train a lot of pilots from different airlines around the world for both initial and recurrent training.”
How did you get in contact with ProSim and why did you choose ProSim?
“Several years ago, we started with the 737-training device. We got in contact with ProSim through our hardware partner, Flight Deck Solutions. We became part of the big project Airbus A320 as a launching customer. We chose ProSim because they provide the most accurate and reliable software in the market. The software runs very stable on both of our devices and is always kept up to date with the latest industry developments and standards.”
What do you like most about working with ProSim?
“What I like about the ProSim team is their spirit. This is more or less the same as at Cockpit4u. ProSim is young, fresh, very flexible, reliable, open for new ideas. This is what I like about them since the beginning. They are getting better every year, and because we have the same values, I like working with them so much. They are definitely the right partner for us.”
How did they help you with some issues?
“ProSim provides 24/7 customer support. Whenever we have an issue with the devices, we can always call them, and they immediately help us out. Even now that we work more remote, they fix the problem very fast through TeamViewer. If there are some hardware issues, they send mechanists stationed here in Berlin to help us solve the problem.”
What changes do you see in the market and how do you adapt to these changes?
“Before COVID-19 most of the clients preferred a face-to-face training in a classroom. Due to the COVID-19-situation I see a shift; lots of clients ask for online virtual trainings now. I think this will be a development for the future. This is something I will for sure further develop. It is cost effective, both for Cockpit4u as for our clients who are situated all over the world.”
Do you think virtual platforms will be the new way of working?
“Yes, I think so. We are developing some AI trainings such as mockup trainings and procedural trainings. Our instructors can provide these trainings through an interactive remote connection. ProSim also has some good ideas when it comes to these kinds of virtual trainings. They are working on an online training to provide on the flat management computer. They have a lot of good ideas to go this virtual way. We have some good talk over these developments.”
What do you hope to achieve with Cockpit4u in the future?
“To keep our high standards and keep offering state of the art training to the pilots. To be up to date and to become maybe one of the leaders in type rate trainings. We are nr. 5 in the world, so a smaller organization that feels like family, but I would like to see us grow and keep up the quality in trainings.”
