Airbus wins $5.1 billion order for 32 jets from Qatar Airways PARIS (AP) =97 Qatar Airways said Thursday it has placed a $5.1 billion= order=20 with European aircraft manufacturer Airbus for 18 planes and options on=20 another 14. The carrier, which already flies only Airbus jets, will more=20 than double the size of its fleet by 2008 through the purchases, the=20 company said in a statement issued at the Paris Air Show. Airbus, in a=20 separate statement, said the airline agreed to orders for two A321 jets, 14= =20 A330s and two A340-600s, currently the largest jet in the Airbus family.=20 Qatar has options for another six A330s and another eight A340-600s, the=20 plane maker said. Edouard Ullmo, a vice president of commercial development= =20 at Airbus, said the deal was valued at $5.1 billion. The A330 aircraft will be delivered between 2004 and 2008, while the=20 A340-600s will be delivered between 2006 and 2010 and the two A321s after=20 December this year. In addition, Qatar said it will lease two A330-200s=20 from General Electric Capital Aviation Services for five years starting in= =20 July 2004. Qatar Airways is also to take delivery by 2009 of two Airbus=20 A380 superjumbos, the competitor of archrival Boeing's 747, Airbus said.=20 Qatar also has an option on two more A380s. On Wednesday, Korean Air said=20 it has signed preliminary agreements with Airbus and Boeing that could=20 eventually lead to the purchase of 17 large jets. The Korean airline inked= =20 memorandums of understanding for five A380 superjumbos from Airbus, with an= =20 option for another three, as well as seven twin-aisle 777s and two=20 747-400ERFs from Boeing. If all the contracts are finalized, the deals=20 would be worth $2.3 billion, said Lee Hyoung-woo, a Korean Air company=20 spokesman. *************************************************** 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 *********************************************************