Volaris, VivaAerobus select Training by Airbus

Airbus brings training services closer to the customer

Airbus is not new to the training world. With five main training centers in Toulouse, Miami, Beijing, Hamburg and Bangalore, Airbus has been training pilots, mechanics, cabin crew and flight operations engineers for decades.

In Latin American, Airbus operators have been served by the Miami training center to date, however customers have expressed a need to have such services closer to them. Airbus has responded with the creation of Training by Airbus, a turn-key training services solution at the customer’s door-step. Airbus has shifted from the traditional training center-centric model to a proactive and customer-centric offering based on local solutions with a local setup.

Mexico is the second largest growing market in the region with a fleet of nearly 200 aircraft over 100 seats and a backlog of more than 200. To meet the increasing demand of flight training, Airbus is setting up training centers in Mexico City and Monterrey.

Selecting a location was easy due to the concentration of Airbus customers in Mexico. Mexico City is the country’s default hub and Monterrey is also a major hub for the airlines.

Volaris, an all-Airbus operator, was first to select Training by Airbus in Mexico to support their operation with the goal of focusing on their core business. Volaris will be the first customer of the training center in Mexico City. The agreement, which includes more than 25,000 flight training hours for 500 pilots, offers value to Volaris as Airbus qualified staff will manage the training programs and fullfil all regulatory needs for pilot training.

For VivaAerobus, Airbus’ newest customers in Mexico, it made sense for Airbus to have presence in Monterrey. As an ultra low-cost carrier, VivaAerobus’ primary focus is on their core business and hence sought a partnership with their aircraft manufacturer to help the airline achieve the best operational economics. Over the course of 10 years, the agreement will include more than 25,000 flight training hours for approximately 750 pilots.

The Airbus training center in Monterrey is a result of a partnership with the Universidad Autonoma de Monterrey’s CIIIA (Centro de Investigacion e Innovacion en Ingenieria Aeronautica), allowing for sustainable growth and opening new educational opportunities, which is also an important goal for Airbus.

Training by Airbus is key to both flagship and low-cost carriers because it allows customers to receive quality training, while dramatically reducing their crews’ travel costs and operational expenses.

Mexico is the first country in Latin America where Airbus has taken the opportunity to create value for training customers with this new concept, but it will certainly no be the last.

For more information contact:
Philippe Beaulieu
Senior Director, Customer Training Support & Services 
philippe.beaulieu@airbus.com