By Tu Lei (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2008-03-18 13:32

Airbus will deliver 265 aircraft to Chinese mainland carriers between 2008 and 2010, with 75 aircraft in 2008 and 90 in 2009, said an Airbus China source.

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Airbus delivered 69 new aircraft to Chinese mainland carriers in 2007, and by the end of January, the total number of Airbus aircraft in service within the Chinese mainland had reached 393, accounting for 37 percent of the country's current fleet and 13 times the number operating in 1995.

Airbus predicts the Chinese aviation industry will develop at an annual speed of 11.1 percent from 2007 to 2011, boosted by the rapidly expanding economy.

The A320 assembly line in Tianjin Municipality will complete its first aircraft this August, and is expected to be able to produce four every month by 2011.

Last year, Airbus delivered 453 new aircraft to customers globally, setting an industry record.

China has a combined order of 478 aircraft outstanding from Airbus, according to the company.