Airbus picks Phl as int’l training hub

MANILA, Philippines - Toulouse-based Airbus is transforming the Philippines as an international training hub in the Asia Pacific region, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) announced over the weekend.

Lt. Gen. William Hotchkiss III, CAAP director general, said yesterday the aircraft manufacturing division of the Airbus Group picked the Philippines as the site of a new training center.

Airbus SAS has training centers in Toulouse, Miami, Hamburg, Beijing and Bangalore in India as well as field service offices around the world.

The planned training center of Airbus SAS was endorsed by CAAP to the Board of Investments (BOI) to entitle the French aircraft maker fiscal and non-fiscal incentives such as income tax holidays, duty free importation of capital equipment, among others.

“The setting of training center is seen as a major initiative supporting the CAAP’s current efforts to support the type rating training of the growing aviation industry,” Hotchkiss said.

Hotchkiss said Airbus SAS representative Thierry Martin sought the endorsement of CAAP for the planned training center equipped with a brand new Airbus A330/A340 Full Flight Simulator and associated suite of devices on top of two A320 simulators.

As part of the Airbus Approved Training Organization (ATO), Hotchkiss said the center would always be updated with the latest training standards thus improving the quality of training.

This, Hotchkiss said, could make the Philippines an international site for Airbus training to serve the ever-increasing Airbus fleet in the region.

Data from leading aviation information consultancy Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) showed that around 9,160 of the total global airplane orders are destined for Asia-Pacific region.

With the huge order, there is demand for 192,300 pilots and 215,300 technicians until 2030. The CAAP issued 24,253 airmen licenses last year.

In the Philippines, national flag carrier Philippine Airlines Inc. (PAL) and budget airline Cebu Air Inc. (Cebu Pacific) have pending orders for Airbus aircraft.

PAL is now reviewing a $10-billion fleet renewal program undertaken by former shareholder – diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) – while Cebu Pacific is in the middle of a $4 billion refleeting program.

Hotchkiss earlier said 2014 was a banner year for the Philippine aviation sector as the country restored its standing in the international civil aviation community.

The country merited the renewed trust and confidence of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the European Safety Commission, the United States – Federal Aviation Administration (US-FAA) and other global civil aviation organizations.