Airbus confident of big orders for A380

Sep 4 2007 by Tony McDonough, Liverpool Daily Post

AIRBUS says it expects more orders for its flagship A380 superjumbo from airlines around the world next year.

The aircraft maker which makes the wings for the giant jets at its Broughton factory complex, near Chester, was in upbeat mood yesterday as it predicted that Chinese airlines may need more than 100 A380s over the next two decades.

And British Airways may also become a customer for the superjumbo as it considers adding a mix of Airbus and Boeing jets to its fleet.

But it is China that seems to hold the greatest potential in terms of new orders for the world’s largest passenger aircraft.

The country’s top carriers, China Southern Air, China Eastern and Air China are building their fleets to serve a domestic and international travel boom.

Airbus says it foresees Chinese carriers needing 113 of its A380s over the next two decades, with the first of those orders coming as early as 2008.

Speaking at the Asian Aerospace forum in Hong Kong yesterday, Airbus’s chief operating officer, customers, John Leahy said: “Over the next year, we will see incremental orders from China for the A380.

“The demand in the Chinese market will see, for us, around 100-150 aircraft (of all types) each year for the foreseeable future.”

China Southern Air, the country's largest carrier by fleet size, has placed five orders for the A380 which cost Airbus around £7bn to develop.

Industrial delays to the A380 programme and other factors mean the company now has to sell more than 420 of the giant jets to break even on its development costs.

The A380 has had a series of setbacks, from delays in delivery to a shelving of plans for the freighter version after cancellations from American parcel carriers UPS and FedEx.

But now it is looking to shake off those problems and is ready to step up production to meet demand for the aircraft.

Airbus says 14 customers, including Qantas and Emirates, have placed orders for 173 A380s.

Two one-way tickets for the maiden commercial flight of Singapore Airline’s first A380 from Singapore to Sydney have been sold for almost £50,000 in an on-line charity auction.