The company, based at the Tobalaba Airport, receives aircraft and pilots for training from Argentina, Peru, and Uruguay. It recently had to bring in a new flight simulator due to high demand for its training services.
Airbus, a global company of European origin, is among the two largest aircraft manufacturers in the world, alongside U.S. company Boeing. It closed 2024 with a record number of aircraft deliveries globally, responding to an increase in demand for aviation services.
During the year, the company delivered a total of 766 commercial aircraft worldwide. Of that total, 53 were for Latin America, with more than half of these being delivered to airlines based in Chile: LATAM (13), JetSMART (12), and Sky (6), accounting for 58% of the aircraft supplied to the region.
“Right now, Chile is a very important market for Airbus. We account for 74% of the country’s commercial aircraft fleet, and 100% of the single-aisle aircraft with our clients LATAM, Sky, and JetSMART,” said Yohan Closs, Vice President of Customer Services for Airbus Latin America and the Caribbean. In Chile, Airbus has more than 107 commercial aircraft in operation, in addition to over 140 helicopters and 11 military aircraft.
The commercial segment is the most relevant in terms of revenue from aircraft production for the company, accounting for 70% of its global total, while the helicopter and defense and space sectors each account for around 15%. This proportion is similar in Chile.
Airbus initiated operations in the country around 20 years ago and established its base at the Eulogio Sánchez Airport (also known as Tobalaba Airport) in the La Reina area of Santiago 18 years ago, where it consolidated all three divisions under one roof in a building that represented a US$5 million investment.
“What do the teams do here? Basically, they provide support to our client’s operations—technical support, a training center, a maintenance center, the helicopter unit, and global spare parts services,” explained Airbus Country Manager Pierre-Marie Gout.
“Chile has always been a mature market for aviation with a strong track record. Considering its population size, it’s not comparable to Brazil or Mexico in terms of revenue, but as a small country, it is very robust and developed in aviation terms. Today, the region’s largest airline, LATAM, is headquartered in Chile, and those that are growing exponentially, such as JetSMART and Sky, are also based in Chile. This is one of the reasons why Airbus developed this center to serve its customers,” he added.
In 2021, the company opened a second building on the same site with a training center, the third in Latin America after Mexico and Brazil. Initially, the center had a single flight simulator, but due to high demand Airbus decided to bring in a second simulator in 2024, which doubled its capacity to train 2,625 students (pilots) per year.
Currently, this training and maintenance center serves not only Chilean clients. Airbus uses the facilities in Chile as a customer service hub for the entire Southern Cone.
“As we continue to grow with local airlines, we are currently welcoming pilots from Chile, Peru, Argentina, and Uruguay. If we continue in this way, there are plans to bring in a third simulator and continue expanding the business. The Airbus building will receive an extension this year to accommodate even more students for training at Tobalaba,” the company said.
Source: La Tercera.
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