Airbus expects to break barrier of 1,000 aircraft orders this year

Dubai: Airbus will break the lofty barrier of 1,000 aircraft orders this year due to massive purchases from Gulf airlines and leasing firms during the Dubai Airshow, the head of parent company EADS said.

"This is the best Dubai Airshow for us ever," EADS chairman Louis Gallois told local media on Monday.

"It has been an extremely rewarding air show."

"This is good news after the difficulties announced last week," he added, referring to EADS' third quarter results and a depreciating US dollar.

Gallois, making a rare appearance in Dubai to attend the airshow, said the confidence placed in the European airframe manufacturer by Middle East airlines would herald a "new spring" for Airbus.

As a result of orders placed at the airshow by Emirates, Dubai Aero-space Enterprise and Qatar Airways, Airbus will sell 300 A350s in its first year, what it says is a record for any aircraft.

It also hopes for a fresh wave of A380 orders after British Airways and Emirates recently revealed intentions to purchase 11 of the superjumbos apiece.

While acknowledging aviation was a cyclical industry he predicted a "very long" cycle upwards, and said one day North America, where airlines operate ageing fleets, might also be in a position to begin making sizable purchases.

EADS is also a major military aerospace firm and officials said they saw opportunities in the re-fleeting requirements of many regional air forces.

It is currently in talks for a contract to supply Saudi Arabia with its latest Eurocopter helicopters.