A Reuters and Associated Press Report says that Airbus expects Chinese airlines to order 113 A380s over the next 20 years, and an average of 100 to 150 Airbus aircraft each year in the next five years.
In an effort to drum up sales in Asia for the A380, the world’s largest passenger jet, one of them cruised past Hong Kong’s skyline twice Monday.
Asia and China are a pivotal battleground between Airbus and its rival, Boeing, both of which are battling to sell jetliners to the country’s three leading carriers, China Southern Air, China Eastern and Air China.
“Over the next year we will see incremental orders from China for A380,” John Leahy, Airbus’s chief operating officer for customers, said on the first day of the Asian Aerospace forum.
“The demand in the Chinese market will see, for us, around 100 to 150 aircraft each year for the foreseeable future, which is one of the reasons that we decided to put our own assembly line in China.”
Leahy did not say how Airbus had arrived at its forecasts.
Report by The Mole
