Airbus has signed Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) with several Chinese airlines for 280 aircraft and hopes to announce firm orders for part of that figure before the end of the year, Chief Operating Officer of Customers John Leahy said at the opening of the new Airbus A320 final assembly line in Tianjin, China, on Sunday.

The MOUs cover A320s, A330s and A350XWBs, and are subject to government approval before they can be added to the order backlog.

Leahy says he sticks to his forecast of around 850 firm orders for 2008 and adds that the actual outcome can be even higher than that. While the preliminary commitments do not include A380s, Leahy says he is convinced it is "only a matter of time" before Air China will order the aircraft.

To date, only China Southern has bought Airbus' largest jet, the A380.

According to Leahy, Airbus is "concerned" about possible consequences of the financial crisis in the U.S. on the world's airlines, which may find it more difficult to get their fleet purchases financed. But Leahy cautions that customers have secured financing for most of the Airbus backlog in 2009 already.

He describes the situation at its biggest single customer--AIG's International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC)--as "more stable than 10 days ago." Leahy expects the unit to be sold eventually, "but it might take more time than many people believe, maybe more than a year."