China Southern was the fifteenth airline to order the aircraft, bringing the total order book to 154.

Airbus, which is already the world's largest aerospace company, says it will need to sell 250 of the aircraft during its 30 to 40-year life to break even. It expects to sell three times that.

Airbus, which relies on its other models until the A380 is delivered to airlines in 2006, expects total deliveries of aircraft to rise from 320 last year to 350-360 this year.