Airbus may secure order for up to 12 A380s from Air India

"An airline company the size of Air India would conceivably be looking at 10-12 aircraft," a company spokesman said, adding that Airbus is in talks with the Indian carrier.

He said executives from the group are currently visiting India, where the company hopes to hold a 70 pct market share of all new aircraft orders.

Chief operating officer John Leahy said earlier this month that Airbus was in discussions over the A380 with with Air India, All Nippon Airways and Cathay Pacific, and that it was hopeful of securing orders for 30 of the planes during 2007.

Airbus CEO Thomas Enders confirmed earlier today that the company is "negotiating on several fronts" with Indian airlines.
Enders is part of a business delegation accompanying German chancellor Angela Merkel on an official visit to India.