Arab Air Carriers Organization

Arab Air Carriers Organization

الاتحاد العربي للنقل الجوي
Formation	August 25, 1965 (1965-08-25)

The Arab Air Carriers Organization (AACO, Arabic: الاتحاد العربي للنقل الجوي‎, translit. Al-Ittiḥād al-`Arabiyy lil-Naql al-Jawwiyy, lit. 'Arab Union for Air Transport'‎), headquartered in Beirut, Lebanon, was established in 1965 upon the recommendation of the Transport Committee of the League of Arab States and the endorsement of the Arab transport ministers.^[1][2][3]

It is a non-political, non-profit Arab organization with 30 members in 18 countries,^[4] which offer 3,514 daily flights to 451 airports in 127 countries. Its goal is to promote cooperation, quality and safety standards among the Arab airlines.

Joint work

The Arab Air Carriers' Organization provides a joint framework for cooperation amongst its members in many areas as: Amadeus Distribution Agreement, Fuel, Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO), Emergency Response Planning (ERP), Cooperation at Outstations, Environment, Aero-political Affairs, Future Distribution Strategies, Aviation Security (AVSEC), and Training through AACO's regional training center.

AACO community

AACO being the platform of cooperation between its members and various stake-holders in the aviation industry, established partnership programs: one is the Partner Airlines, where non- Arab Airlines can join AACO and benefit from its joint work, the second is the Industry Partners, where aviation stakeholders attend AACO events and activities to strengthen their relations with member and partner airlines.

• Member airlines – Membership in AACO is available to Arab airlines operating both scheduled and non-scheduled services, internationally or domestically, mixed or cargo, in the following categories:
  • Active Member: Airlines operating scheduled international services
  • Associate Member: Airlines operating Charter or non-scheduled operations and airlines operating pure domestic flights.
• Partner airlines – AACO Partner Airlines, established in 2010, enables non – Arab airlines to join AACO as partners and benefit from the platform of cooperation between its members through AACO joint work to achieve tangible economic benefits.
• Industry partners – AACO Industry Partnership, established in 1996, provides the platform through which manufacturers, service and system providers and others can communicate with AACO members, offer their products & services through joint forums, and network with member airlines through various AACO forums.

AACO Regional Training Center (RTC)

AACO Regional Training Center (RTC) was established in 1996 in Amman – Jordan through a financial support from the European Commission and the two major aircraft manufacturers Airbus and Boeing, with a main objective of providing training for AACO members to be conducted in the region. AACO RTC provides industry courses in a large number of aviation management and specialized fields, & also provides customized courses in aviation, travel & tourism related affairs. Its objective is to provide training and human resources development, and to assist airlines to achieve savings in their training budgets.

During the fourth quarter of 2009, and after the graduation of more than 20,000 trainees as a result of the expansion of the activities of the regional training center to include specialized courses in most fields of aviation, as well as training courses to raise and develop skills of the human resources in the Arab region, a new branch of the training center has been opened in Cairo to cover the increase of the training needs of AACO Member Airlines.

Annual General Meeting (AGM)

AACO AGM is the highest authority in AACO and comprises the CEOs of the Member Arab Airlines. The AGM gathers once a year to set the strategies and roadmap of AACO. The Annual General Assembly of AACO brings together the CEOs of member airlines in addition to a large number of aviation stake-holders and industry partners as well as international and local press.

Forums

AACO Forums aim at providing platforms for communication and networking between members, partner airlines, regulators, associations and suppliers in the aviation industry. In addition, those forums are always followed by closed meetings for member airlines only where airlines discuss the outcome of the event and direct AACO to work on issues of common interest in relevant domains.

Publications

• The NASHRA – Industry's Pulse & Arab Aviation – The NASHRA is AACO's official monthly bulletin that is distributed electronically in the English language. For a more interactive experience to the readers, The Nashra was re-designed in 2013 and became available also in digital format (E-Magazine) on mobiles, tablets, and PCs. The Nashra is a monthly recap of aviation in the Arab world on a regional and International level.
• AACO Annual Report – AACO Annual Report includes a review of the work conducted by AACO projects’ steering boards, work groups and task forces, in addition to the latest industry updates in the Arab world region and worldwide.
• AATS – Arab Air Transport Statistics – This annual bulletin highlights the major operational developments related to the Arab airlines and airports as well as a synopsis on the world air transport developments at large, in addition to statistical information about general trends of the economy with emphasis on the air transport and tourism sectors in the Arab world. The bulletin includes brief information about each AACO member and partner airline.
• 3D Insight “AACO Quarterly Bulletin” - 3D Insight “AACO Quarterly Bulletin” is an electronic statistical and analytical bulletin in English.
• Regulatory Update – The Regulatory Update is a monthly electronic bulletin that covers all updates on aviation regulatory affairs in the Arab region and the world for the previous month.
• RTC Catalogue – The Regional Training Center catalogue is a detailed description of the yearly training courses.

AACO members

AACO partner airlines

• Turkish Airlines (SA)
• International Airlines Group
• Jet Airways

AACO locations around the Arab world

• AACO Headquarter: 85 Anis Nsouli St., Verdun, P.O.Box: 13-5468, 2044-1408, Beirut, Lebanon
• RTC Amman: 5 Hussein Al Jeser Street, from Al Thaqafa Street, Shmeisani, Amman – Jordan
• RTC Cairo: Cairo International Airport, EgyptAir Training Center, S-Building, Third Floor, Cairo, Egypt

References