Airbus to set up plant for C295 in India

Airbus to set up plant for C295 in India

Thu, 02/21/2019 - 07:56
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By R.Chandrakanth

The President and Managing Director, Airbus India & South Asia, Anand Stanley today announced that Airbus was planning to set up a plant in India for manufacturing the C295 multi-role aircraft as and when the government of India decided. “We are now in commercial talks with the Indian government for replacement of the 56 Avro aircraft with C295.”  The location of the plant will be decided once the contract is signed.

Mr. Anand said “The discussions are on. We are committed to the processes and we will await the outcome.” The C295 is positioned as a multi-utility aircraft. “It is going to be an eye in the sky, it can be weaponised, it can be used for medevac...”  The aircraft can carry 71 troops and as medevac have on board 24 stretchers. “Once we win the contract, we will be fully manufacturing the aircraft here and begin the industrialisation process with Tatas.” It is expected to create 2,500 direct jobs and about 8,000 in the supply chain. “The factory here will be a facility for the entire world. The 56 Avro replacement is sufficient for us to set up the plant in India.”

India is a mega country, along with USA and China and these three are treated separately. “India is not just a market but also a base. In the last two years, Airbus has exported one billion dollars of multiple products from here and all non-offset related.” Besides production a lot of design is done here in Bangalore. “In four years, we have exported nearly 2 billion dollars of products to the world and last year alone 550 million dollars of business.”

As regards helicopters in India, there were nearly nearly 400 helicopters were with the armed forces. In the civil airspace, Airbus has a 36 per cent market share. “The next wave will be civil helicopters here.”

On 20 February, Airbus in a statement announced inauguration of a world class training centre for commercial pilots and maintenance engineers in the National Capital Region of Delhi, as part of its continuing efforts to support the exponential growth of the civil aviation sector in the country.

 

Airbus forecast a need for more than 25,000 new pilots in India over the next 20 years to keep pace with the current double-digit growth in its commercial aviation industry.

 

The training centre incorporates an A320 flight simulator for full-flight simulation, along with programmes on aircraft procedure training, computer-based classroom training, and standard pilot transition training, including an ‘Upgrade to Command’ course aimed at improving skills and maturity of co-pilots as they transition to commandership. The facility will complement Airbus India’s training centre in Bengaluru which has trained more than 4,500 maintenance engineers since its inception in 2007.

 

“Providing a robust training infrastructure to support our customers’ businesses is a priority for us. One pillar of our customer services mission is proximity to the customer, and another one is safety. In that respect, having a training centre located in the country is proof of our commitment towards both,” said Anand E. Stanley, President and Managing Director, Airbus India & South Asia.

 

Globally, Airbus has a comprehensive and highly customised training programme, aimed at pilots, maintenance crew and engineers. Its training facility in India is another testament to the company’s focus on making the most advanced training technologies accessible to the subcontinent while creating highly skilled workforce in line with the government’s ‘Skill India’ initiative.

 

“The new training centre in India is part of our worldwide development plan to address the growing demand for pilots. Over 500,000 new pilots will be required worldwide over the next 20 years. Our increasing footprint also aims at providing service closer to airline customers.” Michael Chemouny, Head of Training Services, Airbus Commercial Aircraft.

Pics- A320 simulator