Dubai, UAE, March 6, 2017:  Etihad Airways Engineering has commended four Alitalia graduate managers returning to Italy after successfully completing two years of intensive on-the-job training in Abu Dhabi. 

Fabio di Casola, Stefania Vullo, Davide Benati and Bruno Bridarolli were selected from more than 4,000 candidates for the highly coveted positions at Alitalia which involved being sent to the largest commercial aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services provider in the Middle East for the first two years of their employment. During their time on the Etihad Airways Engineering Graduate Managers Development Program, the four rotated through different departments in order to gain experience of all facets of the MRO business. 

Jeff Wilkinson, Chief Executive Officer, Etihad Airways Engineering, said: “We have every confidence that our equity partner Alitalia will reap the benefits of their hard work and hands-on experience on the world’s most advanced aircraft. In the two years these young engineers spent at our state-of-the-art facility, they acquired skills and a depth of knowledge which will stand them in good stead for their whole career.

“At Etihad Airways Engineering, we invest a great deal in cultivating the technical abilities of our engineers and the graduate engineers programme. We continue to invest in infrastructure and technology transforming our premises into a world-class facility on all fronts.” 
 
Graduate engineer Davide Benati estimated that he would have had to spend 15 years in the industry to obtain the experience he acquired in the past two years. “We worked alongside senior management in every department from Fleet Development to CAMO (Continuing Airworthiness Management Organisation) to Design & Innovation. This experience has been invaluable for our careers.”

Fellow graduate Fabio di Casola listed another benefit of working in the Middle East: “The first thing you notice when you arrive is that it is a very multicultural environment. Working in such a multicultural environment has taught us to relate to a lot of different cultures which is so important in our international industry.”

Etihad Airways Engineering has served more than 100 airlines and aviation operators from around the world. The company was named MRO Service Provider of the Year - Middle East at the 2016 Aviation Business Awards.