Airbus sees slower orders in 2016 but says bullish long term

HAMBURG (Reuters) - Aircraft markets are seeing slower growth this year but remain on a long-term uptrend as middle-class populations grow in Asia, Airbus sales chief John Leahy said on Tuesday. He told an annual media briefing he would therefore continue to lobby for higher output of the A320 family despite caution expressed by the company's operations chief on Monday. Leahy said Airbus expects to sell about as many planes as it delivers in 2016, giving a book-to-bill-ratio of about 1. Airbus aims to deliver over 650 aircraft in 2016, implying a significant fall in orders from a net total of 1,080 last year. (Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Ingrid Melander)