December 14, 2005
The co-head of European aerospace firm EADS expects orders for its Airbus A350 to rise significantly before year-end, but he declined to say it would hit the company's 200 target.

"We are working on it," Thomas Enders told reporters. "We are setting ourselves ambitious targets. We will come in above the (current) 164, but I cannot give an exact figure," said Enders.

He said overall plane orders would slow in 2006.

Airbus is locked in a fierce battle for orders for its mid-sized A350 plane against US rival Boeing's new 787, which is due to enter service two years before the Airbus plane.

Boeing won a USD$10 billion order from Qantas on Wednesday to deliver 65 of the new 787s, with options for a further 50 aircraft.

An Airbus spokesman said on Wednesday that Airbus had 49 firm orders for the A350 on its order book as at the end of November and that 12 customers had made orders and commitments for the plane.

Asked if Airbus still targeted 200 orders by the end of the year, the spokesman said: "I believe so. The year is not over."

Enders said he expected 2006 to be a good year for overall orders, but not as strong as 2005's record year. He said Airbus would have over 700 firm orders by the end of 2005.

Enders reiterated that Airbus would deliver 370 aircraft this year and 400 next year.

Enders also said EADS planned to pursue a strategy of making the company more international, in keeping with its global customers. In particular, he was eyeing possibilities in China, India, the United States, Russia and South Korea.

(Reuters)