CAE-China Southern JV grows amid strong demand for aviation training in China

CAE-China Southern JV grows amid strong demand for aviation training in China 


MONTREAL, Dec. 23  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- (NYSE: CGT; TSX: CAE) - CAE and
China Southern Airlines are growing their joint venture business by adding an
Airbus A321 full-flight simulator to the Zhuhai Xiang Yi Aviation Technology
training centre in Zhuhai, Guangdong province, China. China Southern Airlines
and China Northern Airlines, along with other airlines within the China Southern
group, are expected to begin training on this device in September 2004.

Over the life of the fifteen-year joint venture, which was announced in November
2002, the A321 simulator is expected to yield average annual revenues of C$3
million. CAE holds a 49 per cent equity interest in the company resulting from
the joint venture, with China Southern holding the remaining 51 per cent.

"Adding to our simulator fleet signals that demand for the joint venture's
services is strong," said Gary Scott, CAE's group president for civil simulation
and training. "We're confident of continued growth in the Chinese market, as the
country sets out to transform itself into one of the world's largest aviation
markets. Demand for training equipment and services will follow suit."

"This joint venture is meeting both companies' expectations," said Yan Zhi Qing,
chairman, China Southern Airlines. "It helps to further validate that China
Southern is a major player in the worldwide aviation market."

The A321 is slated to become the seventh full-flight simulator housed at the
10-bay centre.

The sale of this simulator, which will be equipped with the CAE Tropos(TM)
visual system, marks the 12th order that CAE has received this fiscal year. It
had won a total of 11 competed orders for all of last fiscal year.

The CAE-China Southern joint venture is an outgrowth of CAE's strategy to form
training alliances with established airlines, including ones with Emirates of
the Middle East, Italian flag carrier Alitalia and Spain's Iberia Airlines. CAE
has an installed base of more than 100 full-flight simulators in its global
network of training centres, with 20 locations on four continents.

China Southern Airlines connects more than 80 cities throughout Asia and around
the globe, transporting over 19 million passengers annually. Under an industry
restructuring, China Southern Airlines recently united with China Northern
Airlines and Xinjiang Airlines to form the China Southern Air Holding Company,
comprising a fleet of over 180 aircraft with 40 per cent of China's domestic
market share.

CAE is a leading provider of integrated training solutions and advanced
simulation and controls technologies to civil aviation, military and marine
customers. The company generates annual revenues in excess of C$1 billion and
employs about 6,000 people in Canada, the United States and around the globe.

High-resolution downloadable photos are available in the Photo Gallery section
of CAE's Web site: http://www.cae.com/en/photos.shtml 

DATASOURCE: CAE INC.



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