=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SFGate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/news/archive/2004/08/05/f= inancial1140EDT0090.DTL --------------------------------------------------------------------- Thursday, August 5, 2004 (AP) Virgin Atlantic hands $5.5 billion order to Airbus (08-05) 11:28 PDT PARIS (AP) -- Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd has signed firm orders for 13 new A340 passenger jets from European aircraft maker Airbus SAS and has options on 13 more, both companies announced Thursday. Under the terms of the deal, which Virgin said was worth over $5.5 billion, the airline will start taking deliveries of the 306-seater A340-600s in 2006. The orders are part of an expansion drive underway by Virgin, which currently owns 29 planes. In a statement, Virgin chairman Richard Branson said the purchase, along with the six Airbus A380 "superjumbos" already on order, would enable the carrier to expand its network at a rate of two to three new destinations each year and boost capacity on existing routes. The deal is a major blow to Airbus' U.S. rival Boeing Co., which had offered its midsize twin-engine 777 jet to the British carrier. "We took a range of factors into account, one of which is the preference of some of our passengers to travel on four-engined aircraft rather than twin-engined," Branson said. Airbus had "produced a very competitive deal," he added. Boeing has accused its European rival of cutting prices to take the lead in global jet sales. Airbus sold more commercial planes than Boeing for the first time ever in 2003, and the trend looks set to continue after Airbus said last month that it won 55 percent of global plane sales in the first six months of the year. The Toulouse, France-based company has predicted it will at least match last year's score of 305 plane sales in 2004. Boeing spokeswoman Cheryl Addams said the Chicago-based company was disappointed to have lost the Virgin order but stressed that Boeing was "still the industry favorite with a 66 percent market share," referring to planes already in service. She added: "I can't really comment on the pricing (of the deal) because who knows what it really is." In afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange, Boeing shares were down 16 cents at $50.84. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2004 AP