Iberia to Sponsor IATP Meeting

Iberia will sponsor next year's International Airlines Technical Pool (IATP) conference, to be held in Madrid March 3-7.

The more than 100 airline members of IATP meet twice a year to negotiate the exchange of resources and maintenance services to lower their costs and to enhance operational efficiency.

Under a series of agreements, IATP members share aircraft components, tools, ground assistance equipment, and manpower in the event of breakdowns and to handle line maintenance tasks when needed by an aircraft belonging to a member airline.

Since its founding 63 years ago, IATP has not only contributed to air safety but also to forging closer links among the world's airlines, furnishing first-rate repair and maintenance services, access to the pools of spare parts, and the exchange of technology.

At this year's aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul fair, MRO Europe, held in Madrid in September, the joint stand operated by Iberia Maintenance and British Airways Engineering was the most popular with visitors who praised it for its originality, since it was the first two-storey stand ever erected in Europe. A record number of nearly 3,700 registered visitors attended the fair, well above the 3,300 who attended the previous editions in London and Hamburg.

Iberia Maintenance is in charge of maintaining Iberia's fleet and those of another 100 clients around the world, including Cathay Pacific, Xiamen Airlines, Meridiana, Continental Airlines, DHL, and Air Europa. In 2010 it conducted 122 C and D checks of aircraft, as well as 200 inspections and repairs of aircraft engines and more than 53,000 of components. In 2010 it posted revenues of 334 million for services to outside clients. It is Spain's second largest aviation-related company by income and number of employees, and the world's ninth-largest aircraft maintenance company, excluding manufacturers.