Along with the integration of budget carrier Tiger Airways into the group and the joint venture airline in India, Vistara, the training facility is part of SIA's gradual manoeuvring into related businesses that are outside of its core premium full service flight services. The adjustments to its business model, Goh reiterates, has become necessary in order for the airline to navigate its changing business environment.

SIA has "consciously set up adjacent businesses that we have expertise in," and each business "is a growth potential on its own," Goh tells reporters on the sidelines of the centre's opening ceremony. "Underpinning all of that is how we can bring them all together to synergise with each other."

SIA has a 45% interest in the Airbus Asia Training Centre (AATC) and Airbus holds the remaining 55% stake, with a total investment of US$100 million. The joint venture started operations at SIA’s training centre in Changi in April last year, before the facility in Seletar Aerospace Park was finished, and now trains pilots from 17 airlines.

The centre has 15 instructors, mainly former SIA pilots. It currently has three full flight simulators to train pilots on the A380, A330 and A320 aircraft. There will be six simulators, including A350 pods, by the end of the year. By 2019 the centre will have eight simulators by 2019, with 50 instructors, to cater to 10,000 trainees. It will be the largest training centre Airbus has, in addition to its facilities in Toulouse, Miami and Beijing.

Airbus estimates that Asia Pacific will need to have more about 100,000 more flight crew in the next 20 years, as demand for aircraft rises to 14,000 planes, from about 5,600 currently. The training centre is well-positioned to capture that growth, Airbus officials say, and is set to bring in respectable income for both companies. According to Didier Lux, Senior Vice President and Head of Customer Services at Airbus, flight crew training generates “decent” double-digit margins.

The AATC in Singapore is the first that the aircraft manufacturer has partnered an airline to set up.  Lux says Airbus is looking to set up further joint venture training centres, possibly in places such as Mexico.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, the Minister for Trade and Industry S Iswaran highlighted the increasing need for such partnerships, particularly given the uncertainties of the changing business and economic landscape. “The risks are much greater and what we need are partnerships within the industry and also between the private sector and the public sector.” Iswaran adds that such collaborations bring together different skills and perspectives, “to solve the problems of the industry and also in the process mitigate the risks of newer ventures and to find appropriate ways to optimise our collective resources.”

At 11.43am, SIA shares are up 0.44% at $11.51.