AIRBUS has forecast "substantial" demand for its A380 superjumbo in China as international traffic to mega cities such as Beijing or Shanghai increases.

In its 2007-2008 global market forecast issued yesterday, the European plane maker said it expects a fivefold rise in passenger traffic on the Chinese mainland over the next 20 years and a tripling of China's aircraft fleet. That translates into 2,800 new passenger and freighter aircraft, including 1,900 single-aisle aircraft, nearly 700 twin-aisle and 190 very large aircraft such as the A380, Airbus forecasts.