=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/n/a/2005/02/22/financial/= f061333S16.DTL --------------------------------------------------------------------- Tuesday, February 22, 2005 (AP) Blair, Chirac and Schroeder Urge on Airbus (02-22) 06:13 PST LONDON, United Kingdom (AP) -- The leaders of Britain, France and Germany have sent letters to the Poli= sh government recommending it purchase planes from French company Airbus rather than U.S. rival Boeing Co. Arkadiusz Godun, an adviser to Polish Prime Minister Marek Belka, confirmed Tuesday that British Prime Minister Tony Blair, French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroederhad made their case for Airbus, but said Belka had not yet made a decision on which planes to buy for the national airline. "The prime minister received three letters from the three individuals and he acquainted himself with the offers but has not made any decisions," Godun said. "Each of the offers pointed out the positive qualities of the European offer." Poland's national carrier LOT currently has an all-Boeing fleet of large planes, plus 16 smaller Embraer jets and 13 propeller-driven Aerospatiale-Alenias. Airbus and Boeing have carried out a long trans-Atlantic rivalry to dominate the aerospace market. Airbus has staked its future on demand for massive planes to transport a growing number of passengers, unveiling the world's largest commercial jet, the double-decker A380 "superjumbo," in January. Chicago-based Boeing sees a different future, one in which industry deregulation and smaller, long-range planes like its planned two-aisle 787 Dreamliner — scheduled to debut in 2008 — allow passengers increasingly to fly direct, spurning stopovers. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2005 AP