Beijing may turn into service, training hub for Asia

Beijing is likely to become Airbus' regional hub to provide customer support and training services in Asia in the near future, a senior executive of the European aircraft manufacturer said yesterday.

"We are using the proximity of Beijing to serve other areas of Asia," said Charles Champion, Airbus' executive vice-president for customer services.

"At the moment, the primary focus of our customer service center in Beijing is to support the growth of Chinese airlines, as Chinese carriers are already using a lot of capacity. But beyond that, the center is open for training and delivery of spares to the rest of Asia."