Airbus opens Asia office

Airbus opens Asia office

SINGAPORE (Reuter): Europe's Airbus Industrie said yesterday
it has opened a new regional office in Singapore to further
strengthen its foothold in Asia.

The new Southeast Asia office would cover the countries of the
ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) economic zone,
Airbus said in a statement.

ASEAN includes Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei,
Indonesia and the Philippines.

Airbus said the Asia Pacific area had been identified as its
priority market, with regional airlines predicted to continue
recording higher than average traffic growth of about 6.5 percent
a year, translating to a market for 3,800 aircraft over the next
20 years.

"With advance orders industry-wide standing around 400
aircraft, this leaves an open market for some 3,400 units, valued
at an estimated US$340 billion," the company said.

Airbus Industrie added the region would also play an important
role in its plans to develop a new 550-seat aircraft, with
airlines from the area expected to take delivery of around 560
aircraft of that size by year 2014.