Rise in demand for A380 superjumbo in China will be gradual: Airbus

Shanghai: Airbus expects to see increased demand for the A380 superjumbo aircraft from China in the coming years, with high-speed rail lines at home putting pressure on Chinese airlines to expand their international routes, Airbus China president Laurence Barron has said.

But Barron confessed Chinese airlines will take time to warm up to the Airbus 380 super jumbo.

"Chinese airlines historically have not been very enthusiastic about buying a product early in the programme," Laurence Barron, president of Airbus China, told an aviation conference on Thursday.

"It will take some time for the Chinese airlines to really understand what a great aircraft it is," he said of the A380.

Barron said airlines would feel the pressure from high-speed railway lines in China, especially on the Beijing to Shanghai route. A high-speed train linking the two major Chinese cities will launch in June.

This might put pressure on airlines to expand their international routes, he said, which would bode well for A380 sales.