AIRLINE INDUSTRY INFORMATION-(C)1997-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

European aircraft manufacturer Airbus has announced that it will seek up to EUR1bn in launch aid for its A350 aircraft from France, Germany, the UK and Spain - a move that will anger its US rival Boeing.

The world's two biggest aircraft companies have made complaints to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) over the amount of state aid each one receives for the development of new aircraft. Boeing claims that Airbus is being subsidised illegally by EU states while Airbus claims that while it pays back its loans Boeing receives tax breaks and government contracts that add up to billion of non-repayable US dollars.

Airbus CEO Noel Forgeard said that the company has not yet officially decided to build what would become a direct rival to Boeing's new 7E7 Dreamliner. If it did it would be looking for EUR1bn in repayable loans for the A350, but that it wasn't the company's only source of finance for the project. Forgeard said that he expected the aircraft when confirmed to be launched a year after the 7E7 in 2009, reports The Financial Times.

((Comments on this story may be sent to aii.feedback@m2.com))

COPYRIGHT 2004 M2 Communications Ltd.
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group