The Hua-Ou Aviation Training Centre, an Airbus Training Centre established through a joint venture between Airbus and China Aviation Supplies Holding Company (CAS), has signed an agreement with Airbus sister-company Eurocopter to synergize on training facilities and sharing of services. This agreement will set up a partnership between the two entities for a series of training activities which could include flight simulator training. This is a significant milestone as this will be the first time that such a co-operation will exist between Airbus and Eurocopter.

The agreement was signed on February 25 by Bruno Boulnois CEO of Eurocopter China and Raymond Lim, General Manager of Hua-Ou Aviation Training and Support Centre. The signing ceremony was witnessed by Thomas Enders President and CEO of Airbus and Laurence Barron, President of Airbus China.

"This cooperation conveys the benefits of synergizing shared resources in the EADS group which both Airbus and Eurocopter belong to," said Raymond Lim, General Manager of Hua-Ou Aviation Training and Support Centre. "We welcome Eurocopter to the Hua-Ou Aviation Training Centre facilities and we expect this benefit of sharing training resources to ultimately be experienced by Eurocopter customers in China," he added.

"Eurocopter is pleased with this agreement and will continue moving forward as a pioneer in the rotary wing industry, as we have been doing for the past 43 years ever since the first Eurocopter helicopter was delivered in China. In the context of the opening of low-attitude airspace, we foresee a considerable expansion in market potential of the general aviation sector in China. We intend to capitalize on this cooperation and to further contribute to the development of training in the aviation field in China," said Bruno Boulnois, CEO of Eurocopter China.

This agreement will be an extension to the contract signed in 2009 between Hua-Ou Aviation Support Centre and Eurocopter for the import and distribution of helicopter spare parts in China. This agreement will see Hua-Ou Aviation Training Centre and Eurocopter sharing training services including facilities, course planning and coordination, quality assurance, maintenance of training media and device as well as operational management.

The Hua-Ou Aviation Training & Support Centre became fully operational in 1997. Located near the Beijing Capital International Airport (BCIA), the centre is the first and most modern combined training and customer support facility in China. It is part of a US$80 million investment in China by Airbus.