A number of Russian airlines are thinking of buying the cargo modification of the new Airbus A-380, Sergei Yermolayev, head of the Airbus office in Russia, told Interfax.

Yermolayev said the company had sent the plane's specifications to Aeroflot (RTS: AFLT) and Volga-Dnepr, among other airlines.

He said no commercial negotiations about supplying the A-380 were yet taking place.

The A-380 freight modification can carry up to 150 tonnes of cargo but it would not be a rival for the An-124 Ruslan, which uses a ramp- loading system, Yermolayev said.

Regarding the prospects for Airbus passenger jets on the Russian market, Yermolayev said the company forecast that Russia would need 620 planes able to carry more than 100 passengers, including the A-320, A-330 and the planned A-350, in the next 15 years.