News
Airbus and Singapore Airlines training joint venture formally opens its doors
April 22nd 2016
On Monday Airbus and Singapore Airlines (SIA) opened the joint venture Airbus Asia Training Centre (AATC) at Singapore’s Seletar Aerospace Park to meet growing demand for cockpit crew in the Asia-Pacific. Read More »
The $100 million, 9,250 square metre facility will be Airbus’s fourth and largest training centre, adding to facilities in Beijing, Miami and Toulouse. Airbus owns 55% of the AATC, with SIA holding the remainder.
By 2019, when it will be fully operational, the centre will be able to train up to 10,000 students a year on eight full-flight simulators (FFS)—three for the A350 XWB, one for the A380, two for the A330 and two for the A320 – as well as six fixed cockpit training devices and classrooms. Depending on demand, the facility could potentially house another two FFSs.
The AATC will offer round the clock type rating and training courses for the in-production Airbus family but not ab initio training. Captain BK Chin, an ex-SIA instructor and the head of training at the AATC, told Orient Aviation the usual class size would be kept at or below eight students, but if circumstances demanded it up to 16 trainees could be accommodated at any one time.
The new facility is expecting brisk business. On a previous Orient Aviation visit last October, AATC was temporarily housed at the SIA Training Centre near Changi Airport and had secured the business of nine carriers. Clients have grown to 17 in six months, with Tigerair, Japan Airlines (JAL) and Qatar Airways the latest to sign up.
“Our challenge will be to meet demand,” said Airbus SVP customer services, Didier Lux. The manufacturer predicts the Asia-Pacific will lead demand for new aircraft in the coming years, with the in-service fleet growing from around 5,600 aircraft today to 14,000 over the next two decades. This will see flight crew demand increase from 65,000 now to almost 170,000 by 2034, generating significant demand for flight crew training services. In particular, “the AATC will be a centre of excellence for A350 training worldwide,” Lux said, adding “the market we see [in the Asia-Pacific] is really more in long-range operations.”
“We are extremely pleased to inaugurate, in partnership with SIA, the latest addition to our global training network,” said Airbus president and CEO, Fabrice Brégier, after thanking SIA CEO, Goh Choon Phong, for his drive, efficiency and friendship in making the project a reality. “The new centre combines the expertise of our two companies to offer the highest standards of training for the growing flight crew population in the Asia-Pacific region. Our investment in this joint venture is another example of our commitment at Airbus to bring our support services closer to our customers around the world, and especially in the key growth markets.” In his opening speech, Brégier mused that one day we will have pilotless aircraft, “but I can assure you that in the next 20 years, we will make full use of our facility here."
SIA CEO Goh added that “with hundreds more new Airbus aircraft on firm order by the region’s airlines, we are confident that AATC will go from strength to strength.”
The SIA chief later told Orient Aviation that SIA’s investment in the AATC is in line with the carrier's "transformative strategy to go beyond the core business into adjacent areas". Goh said he was open to similar projects with Boeing, should the U.S. manufacturer approach the airline.
The AATC opening drew an impressive crowd, including Singapore’s minister for trade and industries, S Iswaran. VietJet Air CEO, Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, BOC Aviation CEO, Robert Martin, and countless senior representatives from Air Mauritius, All Nippon Airways (ANA), Asiana Airlines, Cathay Pacific Airways, Cebu Pacific Air, Fiji Airways, Japan Airlines (JAL), Jetstar Asia, Malaysia Airlines (MAB), TransAsia Airways, and key figures from SIA and its affiliates, SilkAir and Tigerair.
Separately, Airbus’ Miami training centre this week finished installation of its first A350 FFS after receiving Level-D qualification from both the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). U.S. airlines have ordered 82 A350 orders: 22 -900s from American Airlines, 25 -900s from Delta Air Lines and 35 -1000s from United Airlines.
