Troubled
European plane-maker 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, to meet the booming demand for air travel in the
world''s most populous country.
Airbus
is making an extra effort to boost sales in Asia for the
A380 superjumbo, whose maiden flight past Hong Kong''s
skyline at the Asia''s largest air show virtually kicked
off the event on 3 September. Both Airbus and its main
rival, Boeing, are in fierce competition to sell their
jetliners to China''s three leading carriers: China Southern
Air, China Eastern and Air China
Airbus''s
chief operating officer (CEO) for customers John Leahy
said on the first day of the Asian Aerospace forum at
HongKong that the demand in the Chinese market should
translate into a sale of around 100 to 150 Airbus aircraft
each year for the foreseeable future. This, he said, is
one of the reasons that Airbus decided to set up an aircraft
assembly line in China.
The
planned assembly line, which will make A320s, is to be
in Tianjin. Leahy said that the plant would start operations
with two-thirds European employees and one-third local
residents, but that progressively, Airbus hoped to bring
the mix to 90 per cent local and 10 per cent expatriate,
within three to five years. Projected to deliver its first
plane in early 2009, the plant should reach its full capacity
of four planes a month in 2011, Leahy said.
The
A380 burns 17 per cent less fuel per passenger-kilometre
than any other plane in service, Airbus says, and emits
just 75g of CO2 per passenger-km, half the European target
for a car. Its efficiency is part of its appeal to Chinese
airlines.
Leahy
predicted that there would be more orders for the A380
from China over the next year. China Southern Air has
already ordered five of the super jumbos, for which Airbus
has a total of 173 firm orders or commitments, even after
technical problems have delayed its deliveries by over
a year.
Buyers
include Singapore Airlines, Emirates Airlines and Qantas.
Leahy said he did not expect new orders at the Hong Kong
air show. Airbus is scheduled to deliver its first A380
to Singapore Airlines on 15 October.
Both
Airbus and Boeing say they expect China to become the
world''s second-biggest aircraft market, after the United
States, with airlines buying a total of 1,900 to 2,600
planes in the next two decades. Travel to and from China
is expected to keep climbing alongside its double-digit
economic growth, dwindling restrictions and increasingly
open skies.
Morgan
Stanley estimates that global airline seat capacity will
rise 3.8 per cent in 2007 and 5.2 per cent in 2008, driven
largely by Asia. For Asia itself, seat capacity increases
will be 8 per cent to 9 per cent for 2008-09, compared
to 5 per cent in 2007.
One
worrying factor for Airbus will be that last month, China
adopted a series of measures aimed at reining in rapid
growth in air traffic that has begun to raise concerns
about safety. Applications to start new airlines are suspended
until 2010, and existing airlines will be subject to government
controls.
The
General Administration of Civil Aviation of China (GAAC)
is also making key airports cap the number of take-offs
and landings allowed in a day. It is to impose sharp cuts
on the flight schedules of the main airlines serving Beijing
Capital International Airport, the busiest in the country,
which handles 13 million more passengers per year than
its facilities were designed to support.
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