Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB) has signed an agreement with the Airbus Asia Training Centre (AATC) in Singapore to provide A350 XWB training to the carrier’s flight crew.

The contract will cover complete courses for flight crew transition to the new A350 XWB, as well as regular recurrent training services.

The agreement was signed at the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace (LIMA) Exhibition 2017 by Nik Azli Abu Zahar, Executive Counsel, Malaysia Airlines and Jean-Francois Laval, Executive Vice President, Asia, Airbus.

According to Malaysia Airlines Chief Operations Officer, Capt Izham Ismail, “The A350 XWB will play a key role in our 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 us to train our crews for this new aircraft type. This will be an efficient and cost-effective solution for Malaysia Airlines, with crews being trained close to home” he added.

“AATC is proud to work with Malaysia Airlines and support the carrier’s flight crew training needs for its A350 XWB fleet,” said Jean-Francois Laval, Executive Vice President, Asia, Airbus. “This latest agreement underscores the close partnership between Airbus and Malaysia Airlines.”

Malaysia Airlines will take delivery of its first A350-900 at the end of this year. Altogether the airline will acquire six aircraft on lease from Air Lease Corporation. The airline will operate the aircraft on premium long haul routes, with a luxurious three-class layout.