Malaysia Airlines, Airbus Training Centre Sign Training Agreement

KUALA LUMPUR, March 22 (Bernama) -- Malaysia Airlines Bhd has signed an agreement with Airbus Asia Training Centre (AATC) in Singapore to provide training to the carrier's flight crew for the Airbus A350 XWB aircraft. The agreement was signed Tuesday at the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace (LIMA) Exhibition 2017 by Malaysia Airlines Executive Counsel Nik Azli Abu Zahar and Airbus Asia Executive Vice President Jean-Francois Laval. In a statement, Airbus said, the flight crew would be provided with training to assist them in transitioning to the new A350 XWB, as well as regular recurrent training services. Malaysia Airlines Chief Operations Officer, Captain Izham Ismail, said the A350 XWB would play a key role in the airline's future fleet and network expansion plan. "The Airbus training centre in Singapore offers the full range of courses and facilities, including state-of-the-art full flight simulators to enable Malaysia Airlines to train its crews for this new type of aircraft," he said. Meanwhile, Laval said, AATC was proud to work with Malaysia Airlines and was ready to meet the carrier’s flight crew training needs for its A350 XWB fleet. "This latest agreement underscores the close partnership between Airbus and Malaysia Airlines," he said. Malaysia Airlines would be taking delivery of its first A350-900 at the end of this year, and would acquire six aircraft on lease from Air Lease Corp altogether. The airline would operate the aircraft on premium long haul routes, with a luxurious three-class layout. The AATC is part of the Airbus global flight training network, which also includes training centres in Toulouse, Miami and Beijing. The centre offers identical courses, with the latest facilities, including full flight simulators and fixed training devices. --BERNAMA