Airbus aims to double market share in Japan by 2020

[TOKYO] Airbus SAS, which won its first order from Japan Airlines this month, intends to double its market share in the country by 2020 as air travel demand climbs.

The European manufacturer's planes will make up 25 per cent of Japanese airline fleets within seven years, from 13 per cent currently, Airbus chief executive Fabrice Bregier said in a speech in Tokyo yesterday. The planemaker aims to double that again to 50 per cent in 20 to 25 years, he said.

Airbus' agreement, valued at US$9.5 billion at the time, to supply JAL with 31 long-range A350s follows a 2010 order from Tokyo- based Skymark Airlines for the A380 superjumbo in a country that Boeing has dominated for decades.