------------------------------------------------------
The planned Airbus jet "looks a good plane," Emirates Chairman Sheik Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum said at the air show.
"We are still looking at both the 787 and the A350 -- the newly announced version," he said during a news conference at which the airline announced orders for 10 Boeing 747-8F freighters.
Airbus received nonbinding commitments from Tripoli-based Afriqiyah Airways for the purchase of 12 jets on Tuesday -- Libya's biggest plane deal since the lifting of international sanctions -- taking its Farnborough order book so far to 23 jets, worth $2.6 billion at list prices.
But Boeing won much more business, fueling speculation that it will beat Airbus for full-year orders for the first time since 2000. Airbus recorded just 117 gross orders in the first half, less than a quarter of its U.S. rival's total.
At the close of Farnborough's second day, by which time most of the business is usually done, Boeing had notched orders for 62 jets worth $7.9 billion.
Airbus is seeking to assure investors at Farnborough that it is back on track after costly production delays to its flagship A380 superjumbo sparked high-level management changes last month.
The upheaval came amid mounting customer dissatisfaction with the midsize A350 program, which was billed as a rival to the 787 but had won only 100 firm orders prior to the revamp, compared with 360 for the Dreamliner.
Pressure for a rethink had also intensified with rising oil prices, as Boeing's twin-engine 777 increasingly trounced the less-efficient, four-engine Airbus A340 in competition for contracts. Airbus fell behind Boeing on overall order value last year as a result.
St. Louis Post Dispatch (STLtoday)
Comment Preview