A320's built in China

Airbus said on Wednesday that it would raise production of its A320 family of passenger airliners, helped by a new factory in China, and may also increase output of A330/A340 models.

In a statement, Airbus said it would raise A320 output to 40 planes a month by end 2009 from a current production level of 32. Airbus officials have previously said the change was planned due to strong demand.

Airbus said it was also considering lifting production of its A330/A340 aircraft above and beyond current plans to raise output from seven planes a month now to nine in 2009.

The A320s are currently built in Toulouse, France, and Hamburg, Germany.

Airbus said some of the additional aircraft would be built at a factory in Tianjin, China, due to come on stream in mid-2008. It said the factory would produce two planes a month by the end of 2009, rising to four a month by 2011.

The news comes at a time when Airbus is facing sporadic strikes over plans to cut around 10,000 jobs in Europe.