Marco Polo, the legendary Italian traveler who brought China to the eyes of the European world, has now become the title for the European aviation training and expert-related program for the Chinese civil and general aviation industry, or the "Marco Polo Sino-European Aviation Training Solutions".

"Marco Polo is a name that we believe links China with Europe. He was a traveler between the two worlds. He opened new doors and created bridges. This is exactly what we want to do in the context of aviation training, to have a greater European offering from the many European aviation companies who will join this platform and to be able to offer aviation-related training in China," said Pierre Steffen, Airbus China senior vice president of customer services and internal operations, and co-chairman of the program.

Through a broad program, Airbus and its European partners are delivering a sound set of European aviation training and expert-related offerings to China in an effort to help support the safety and operational efficiency of the Chinese civil and general aviation industry.

"The 'Marco Polo Sino-European Aviation Training Solutions' program will coordinate and consolidate the European training and expert-related offerings in China and will achieve a streamlined and efficient deployment of European resources for the Chinese aviation industry," said Steffen.

Given China's huge market growth, aviation safety is of unparalleled importance. According to Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) aviation safety office director general Liu Yajun, "Safety is the top priority for Chinese aviation. As Chinese airlines expand their fleets driven by the fast economic growth of China, they need more qualified mechanics, pilots, maintenance engineers and other professionals. An initiative such as the 'Marco Polo Sino-European Aviation Training Solutions' program is imperative for China, which is seeing some unprecedented challenges in coping with its growth in aviation."

As one of the first customers of the Marco Polo program, senior management from Spring Airlines were attending the third of their eight modules with Airbus in Shanghai in middle December.

The program brings the top managers in Spring Airlines closer to subjects including safety in organization, management and financial resolves. The training program so far has received valuable feedback from Spring Airlines. Many Chinese airlines have showed interest in the modules and Airbus has engaged with some of these airlines while doing organizational assessments.

Unique from other training programs, Airbus applies a Chinese solution for Chinese people. Instead of using foreign experts directly, Airbus uses local talent who are capable in the fields of English, aviation and also Chinese.

"What we want to stress is that it is not a one-way bridge. It's a two-way bridge. We will go to our customers and listen to their needs and then we will propose our solutions. This is also a flexible program, which can be modified according to input from the customers, the CAAC and other related parties," Steffen said.

Steffen underlined the importance of partnership for the success of the program. "This is a multi-company platform. It is led by Airbus China at the senior level but we can't do it alone," said Steffen.

According to Steffen, the idea was born about two years ago and has already been active in the market for one year in areas such as airline management, cost management, safety quality and so on. To date more than 500 people have been trained and the program is expected to receive more than 1,000 participants annually, ranging from top management to white-collar-employees and blue-collars.

"All the training and education revolves around the successful and safe running of an airline," said Steffen.

An Airbus academy located in Beijing is planned for next year and will cater for staff training and customer relations training and education.

Today, more than 450 Airbus aircraft are in service in China. Operators on the Chinese mainland include Air China, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Sichuan Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, Hainan Airlines, Spring Airlines, United Eagle Airlines, East Star Airlines and Juneyao Airlines. Cathay Pacific, Dragonair and Air Macau are Airbus operators in Hong Kong and Macau.

The CASC/Airbus-Customer Services Training & Support Centre (or Hua-Ou Aviation Training & Support Centre in Chinese) located near Beijing Capital International Airport (BCIA) is the first and most modern combined training and customer support facility in China. Jointly established by the China Aviation Supplies Import & Export Group Corporation and Airbus and opened in 1997, it is part of an US$80 million Airbus investment in China.

Since receiving its first group of pilot trainees in October 1997, the training center has provided training for people from more than 30 airlines worldwide. Over 17,000 registered trainees have been trained, including Chinese and foreign pilots, maintenance engineers and cabin attendants.