Airbus said it expects the market for aircraft to cool and new orders to halve to 700 this year after years of strong demand from airlines took its order book to a record 3,600 planes.

Toulouse-based Airbus, owned by European aerospace group EADS, received orders for 1,341 aircraft in 2007, but fell behind US rival Boeing, which had 1,413.

"The years 2005, 2006 and 2007 were the peak years in terms of orders and we now are ramping up production, as is Boeing. We would see 2010, 2011 and 2012 as peak years in terms of production," Airbus chief salesman John Leahy told a news conference at the Singapore Airshow.

The record order book means Airbus has sold out for the next five years, Leahy said, adding the market was now "cooling down a little bit".

The company expects over 100 orders for its new A350 XWB widebody plane this year, adding to the order book of 310 planes from 15 customers.

Leahy said he expected 30 orders for the A380 superjumbo this year, including the three confirmed this week from Korean Air Lines and the five ordered in 2003.

"Many of these orders are coming from the booming Asian market in particular," chief executive Tom Enders said, adding Asia will account for the bulk of future orders as regional travel is forecast to grow by more than six per cent, compared with 5 percent globally.-Reuters