The article below from NYTimes.com has been sent to you by psa188@xxxxxxxxx /--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight ------------\ THE CLEARING - NOW PLAYING IN SELECT CITIES THE CLEARING stars ROBERT REDFORD and HELEN MIRREN as Wayne and Eileen Hayes - a husband and wife living the American Dream. Together they've raised two children and struggled to build a successful business from the ground up. When Wayne is kidnapped by Arnold Mack (WILLEM DAFOE), and held for ransom in a remote forest, the couple's world is turned inside out. Buy tickets now at: http://movies.channel.aol.com/movie/main.adp?mid=17891 \----------------------------------------------------------/ Airbus Signs $7B Deal With Etihad Airways July 20, 2004 By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Filed at 7:55 a.m. ET FARNBOROUGH, England (AP) -- European aircraft maker Airbus signed a deal Tuesday worth more than $7 billion to sell 24 airplanes to Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways, including four of its new A380 jumbo jets. Airbus said the deal, the biggest announced so far at this week's Farnborough air show, includes options for Etihad to buy another 12 airplanes. Airbus is developing the A380, which will seat about 550 passengers, to fill a demand it sees for super-size planes flying large numbers of passengers between specific cities. Airbus has now pre-sold 133 of the A380s, and chief executive Noel Forgeard has said the jumbo aircraft is on track to make its test flight during the first three months of next year. The deal dwarfs a sale announcement made by Airbus's rival, American aircraft-maker Boeing Co., at the airshow Monday. Boeing's deal with Emirates Airline consists of a firm sale of four 777-300ERs with options on nine more, for a total contract value of $2.96 billion. The four planes are to be delivered in 2006, with the optional sales to be completed by 2012. The air show already has given executives for the two titans of the industry a platform for their intense competition as they defend their respective strategies for future growth and trade accusations about government subsidies. In contrast to Airbus, Boeing Commercial Airplanes chief executive Alan Mulally argued here that airlines will need aircraft to make longer and more frequent flights. Boeing, headquartered in Chicago, is developing its new medium-sized 7E7 aircraft to meet this anticipated demand. More than 300,000 people were due to attend Britain's Farnborough International Air Show, where more than 1,300 exhibitors from 32 countries are showing off the latest in aviation technology, from flight simulators and unmanned reconnaissance drones to a space pavilion run by the British National Space Center. A miniature town complete with traffic circles and avenues has sprung up on the 66-acre Farnborough Aerodrome site in southeastern England for the temporary exhibition. Both Airbus and Boeing said on Monday that demand for passenger and freight aircraft is rebounding slowly after an unprecedented global downturn and in spite of high fuel costs. Boeing foresees 5.2 percent annual growth in global passenger traffic and 6.2 percent growth in air cargo business, after nearly three years of lost production due to the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, the SARS epidemic in Asia, the bursting of the dot-com bubble and the war in Iraq. Boeing estimates that airlines will buy some 25,000 new planes worth $2 trillion over the next two decades, Boeing Commercial Airplanes chief executive Alan Mulally said at a news conference Monday. About 24 airlines already have paid deposits for more than 200 7E7s, and Boeing expects to convert some of these down payments into firm orders ``through the end of this year,'' Mulally said. The 217-seat 7E7 is to be launched in 2008. Airbus chief executive Noel Forgeard estimated that air traffic grew by 7 percent last year and would rise by 10 percent this year, even though aviation fuel prices also have increased. Airbus, based in Toulouse, France, has received 104 firm orders so far this year and claims more than half of the airline market. ``I can now confirm that we plan to deliver more aircraft than last year, and even more than the 305 aircraft that were the plan,'' he told a news conference Monday. Airbus foresees global sales of 16,000 aircraft over the next 20 years, at least 1,500 of them to China. Meanwhile, Embraer of Brazil announced three sales of regional jets. Embraer said that U.S. airline Trans States has agreed to exercise options to buy seven ERJ145 jets and to retain the option to purchase 10 more. Republic Airways Holdings, owner of American carriers Chautauqua Airlines and Republic Airlines, has confirmed it will exercise options for two Embraer 170s. Luxair of Luxembourg has agreed to exercise options on two ERJ135s and to reserve an option for another, Embraer said. (UPDATES throughout with detail on deal, corrects writethru sequence. No pickup) http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/business/AP-Britain-Air-Show.html?ex=1091328402&ei=1&en=315712db86dcfcf8 --------------------------------- Get Home Delivery of The New York Times Newspaper. Imagine reading The New York Times any time & anywhere you like! Leisurely catch up on events & expand your horizons. Enjoy now for 50% off Home Delivery! 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