Boeing confirms $1.5 billion deal with Korean Air LE BOURGET, France (Reuters) =97 Boeing confirmed on Tuesday that it had=20 signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Korean Air to sell nine new= =20 planes including 747 jumbo jets worth about $1.5 billion. An industry=20 source earlier revealed the Korean Air deal to Reuters, saying it would=20 include two 747-400ER freighters and seven 777 passenger jets. "We signed=20 an MOU yesterday and we expect to complete it in the next few weeks," a=20 spokesman for Boeing confirmed at the Paris Air Show, the industry's=20 largest showcase. A Korean Air spokesman also confirmed the agreement but=20 said the details were not scheduled for release until Wednesday. News of=20 the deal comes a day after Boeing arch-rival Airbus SAS landed an order for= =20 planes worth more than $12 billion. Boeing and France-based Airbus are=20 locked in a struggle for orders after slowing growth in the airline sector= =20 weakened demand for new planes. Both companies are developing new products,= =20 with Airbus due to deliver the hefty 555-seat A380 in 2006 and Boeing=20 planning the 7E7 Dreamliner to slot into the 200-250-seat range around=20 2008. The Korean Air deal would help Boeing keep production of the=20 venerable jumbo rolling while offering solid margins on the 777, a=20 twin-engined, wide-bodied model that has found favour with airlines=20 operating on long routes. U.S. aero-engine maker Pratt & Whitney was=20 expected to supply engines for the planes as it has provided power for=20 Korean Air's entire fleet. A spokesman for the company, a unit of United=20 Technologies, declined to comment. *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) escape email mailto:ejames@xxxxxxxxx Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Mas Site: www.tntisland.com/tntrecords/mas2003/ Site of the Week: http://www.carib-link.net/naparima/naps.html TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************