Airbus still aiming for 300 sales by year end

By Martina Fuchs and Tim Hepher

DUBAI (Reuters) - Airbus is still aiming to sell 300 aircraft in 2009 and is confident it will meet 2013 delivery targets for the A350, a company executive said on Wednesday.

Speaking to Reuters Television at the Dubai air show, Airbus Chief Operating Officer said there were signs of recovery in the industry, and that despite the recession, the company was running at record levels by producing 490 planes a year.

"Three hundred is still the target ... we're still aiming for it, it's a stretched target now, but I think we'll get close. We are getting a lot closer than many people think," Leahy said.

Despite a more subdued event than two years ago, EADS subsidiary Airbus said on Wednesday it had still won commitments at the air show worth $5.3 billion including orders from Air Austral for two A380s and Senegal Airlines for six new aircraft.

Leahy said the manufacturer had a backlog of 3,400 orders which would help it maintain its current high production levels, but added the next two years could see continued low incremental increases in orders.

"It will probably be another two years of low incremental orders but still we can try and keep very high production levels," he said.

Emirates airline said at the air show this week it was in talks with Boeing and Airbus to buy "tens of planes", possibly 777s and A330s, as the airline prepares for a global recovery.

In Airbus' contingency planning, the levels of production could be decreased by two aircraft a month from currently 34 to 32 a month, Leahy said.