Airbus and Aerolineas Argentinas have signed a strategic agreement to establish the first Airbus maintenance training collaboration in South America at the airline’s facilities in Buenos Aires. The venture will deliver maintenance and engineering training services for A320, A330 and A340 aircraft and will implement Airbus’ training standards, including its dynamic trainers and teaching techniques. The agreement will also provide Argentina’s flagship airline with Airbus ‘original equipment manufacturer’ (OEM)-backed maintenance training capabilities to its personnel, as well as to third-party customers in the region.

Besides integration of Aerolineas Argentinas instructors to the Airbus Maintenance Training Organization Exposition (MTOE), the agreement will also include access to Airbus courseware, instruction media, virtual tools and real aircraft practice. This collaboration will therefore enable Aerolineas Argentinas to deliver the highest standards of engineering training to their own technical staff and to third-party airline customers.

“Providing our crews with Airbus’ best-in-class maintenance training gives Aerolineas huge advantages,” said Pablo Ceriani, Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer of Aerolineas Argentinas. “We look forward to the opportunity to capture key business opportunities in the region by extending these services to other airlines and maintenance organizations, and are glad to be working with Airbus to contribute to the development of quality training standards in the Latin America region.”

“We are pleased to expand our services footprint in Latin America” said Didier Lux, Head of Airbus Customer Services. “Teaming-up with Aerolineas Argentinas is a major milestone to deliver Training by Airbus in the region, ensure even more efficient service, support and proximity to our customers.”

Aerolineas Argentinas first started its relationship with Airbus in 1994 with operation of the A310-300 aircraft. In February, Argentina’s flagship airline took delivery of its first of four new Airbus A330-200s to modernize and consolidate its wide body fleet. Today, the carrier operates 14 Airbus wide body aircraft, six A330s and eight A340s.

Airbus’ long established Training Centre ‘hub’ in Miami for Airbus training operations throughout the Americas, and will serve as a centre-of-excellence for the Buenos Aires operations. Airbus’ portfolio of training services, collectively named: “Training by Airbus”, ensures a smooth aircraft entry-into-service and provides customers with support and services throughout the operational life of their Airbus fleet. It also provides courses locally to its customers thanks to mobile solutions and e-learning features.