European aircraft-maker Airbus on Monday opened a training centre
in Singapore, its second in Asia, as it aims to meet demand for
pilots and other flight crew in a region expected to see a travel
boom.
The 9,250 square metre (100,000 square foot) centre offers training
and refresher courses for crew staffing Airbus planes including the
double-decker A380 and the A350, Airbus said in a statement.
When fully operational, it will be Airbus' largest flight crew
training facility, with eight full-flight simulators, six fixed
cockpit training devices and extensive classroom facilities, with
capacity to churn out more than 10,000 trainees per year, it
said.
Airbus' other training centres are in Beijing, Miami and its
headquarters in Toulouse.
The Asia-Pacific is expected to lead demand for new aircraft in the
next 20 years, with the regional fleet forecast to grow from around
5,600 aircraft currently to 14,000 over that period, Airbus
said.
This will push the number of flight crew employed by airlines in
the region to almost 170,000 from over 65,000 in the next two
decades, it said.
Airbus' chief salesman John Leahy said at the Singapore Airshow in
February that Asia's burgeoning middle class would drive travel
growth in the region, which would require the need for more
aircraft.
"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," Airbus president and chief executive Fabrice Bregier said
Monday at the opening of the training centre.
Seventeen airlines across Asia Pacific have already signed up to
train their crew at the new centre.
The centre is a joint venture between Airbus, which holds 55
percent, and Singapore Airlines, which owns 45 percent.
US plane-maker Boeing also has a training centre in Singapore, a
regional aviation hub.
yahoo