Seven airlines would fly the super jumbo Airbus A380 to China, the giant plane's makers said yesterday.

Airbus SAS, the French-based company, said it will start to assemble the A380 next month.

"Airlines that have placed orders for our A380 planes are prepared to use some of them to fly Chinese services. About seven carriers will fly A380 passenger planes and freighters to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong," the company said in an e-mailed press release.

Flights served by A380 to Chinese destinations will total more than 100 a week by 2009.

Last year, some major airports in China upgraded their runways to prepare for A380 takeoffs and landings.

The A380 passenger planes will carry 555 people, about 35 percent more than the current largest plane, the Boeing 747-400.

The super planes will debut in 2005 and go into commercial service from 2006.

None of the 11 confirmed buyers is from China.

"We believe that the purchase of A380 by Chinese airlines is just a matter of time," said Gu Ming, a spokesman for Airbus China Limited.

(Shanghai Daily April 2, 2004)