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Boeing beats

Airbus to

Air China deal

LONDON: US-based Boeing Co looks to have beaten European consortium Airbus Industrie ARBU.CN to supply up to 20 aircraft to Air China in a deal worth $1 billion to $2 billion, the Financial Times said, quoting unnamed European diplomatic sources.

The paper said the order was understood to include 15 Boeing 777s, the wide-bodied 400-passenger jet aimed at both domestic and long-haul international routes. Airbus had been hoping to supply its A-340, it said.

It quoted one European ambassador in Beijing as saying: "We hope it is not a final decision. It would be very awkward if it is a hard and fast choice."

Foreign companies have been scrambling for a slice of China's booming aviation market since it opened the sector last year.

They are chasing orders for up to 800 aircraft China is expected to buy in the next 15 years and the 90 airports it is planning to either build from scratch or upgrade.

Airbus consortium members include Aerospatiale of France, British Aerospace of the UK and Daimler-Benz AG's Daimler-Benz Aerospace of Germany.-Reuter