PARIS, May 20 (Reuters) – Airbus could steal the
Paris air show with a flypast of its newest passenger jet, the
A350, as confidence grows over a maiden flight some four weeks
away.

The timescales of its previous airliner launches suggests
the European manufacturer could be ready to fly the aircraft in
mid-June, depending on weather and ground trials, giving pilots
a narrow time window to test the plane’s basic characteristics
in flight before the June 17-23 air show.

PARIS, May 14 (Reuters) – Airbus expressed growing optimism
about the schedule for the keenly-awaited maiden flight of its
A350 on Tuesday, amid speculation that its first new jet in
almost a decade could debut before next month’s Paris air show.

Scooping headlines at the world’s largest aerospace event
would give a boost to the A350, which went through several false
starts in design but for the time being seems relatively immune
from problems which have plagued Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner.

LONDON, May 8 (Reuters) – Airbus has started
painting the A350, a sign it is approaching a maiden flight, but
has bowed to the industry’s increasingly pragmatic mood by
deciding against a traditional “rollout” for its newest jet.

Eight years after European leaders witnessed a spectacle
worthy of stadium opera to launch the A380 superjumbo, Europe’s
latest aeronautical venture will prepare to leave the nest with
less fanfare in an industry sobered by delays and technical
mishaps.

PARIS/DUBAI (Reuters) – Boeing has shown airlines a blueprint for the world’s longest-range passenger jet, adding spice to a long-awaited revamp of its 777 wide-body jet, people familiar with the matter said.

Boeing on Wednesday launched a race against Airbus for sales of the newest long-haul jets by announcing it had begun selling an upgraded aircraft family code-named 777X.

SEATTLE/PARIS, May 1 (Reuters) – Boeing has started
offering its long-awaited 777X long-range jet, paving the way
for a ‘mini-jumbo’ war with European rival Airbus, industry
sources said on Wednesday.

The move backed by Boeing’s board means that the commercial
aircraft division can begin taking orders for a revamped version
of its top-selling wide-bodied jet, the 777, which could include
folding wingtips and new engines from General Electric.

PARIS/DUBAI (Reuters) – Boeing (BA.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) looks ready to start offering its long-awaited next-generation mini-jumbo in weeks after pondering for months how to prevent a key part of the big-jet market slipping to rival Airbus (EAD.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

Industry sources, analysts and potential buyers say Boeing’s idea of revamping its long-serving 777 was rapidly gathering momentum even before British Airways (ICAG.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) signed a $6 billion order for 18 of Airbus’s new A350-1000 jets on Monday.

PARIS/DUBAI, April 24 (Reuters) – Boeing looks ready
to start offering its long-awaited next-generation mini-jumbo in
weeks after pondering for months how to prevent a key part of
the big-jet market slipping to rival Airbus.

Industry sources, analysts and potential buyers say Boeing’s
idea of revamping its long-serving 777 was rapidly gathering
momentum even before British Airways signed a $6
billion order for 18 of Airbus’s new A350-1000 jets on Monday.

LONDON (Reuters) – International Airlines Group (ICAG.L: Quote, Profile, Research) unveiled orders for 18 Airbus A350 long-haul jets for its British Airways arm and said it was in further talks with Airbus and Boeing (BA.N: Quote, Profile, Research) to secure more planes for Spanish unit Iberia.

The closely fought $6 billion (£3.92 billion) order for the largest version of Airbus’ newest jet is likely to step up competition with Boeing over the lucrative “mini-jumbo” plane market, almost entirely dominated by the U.S. manufacturer’s wide-bodied 777.

LONDON, April 22 (Reuters) – International Airlines Group
unveiled orders for 18 Airbus A350 long-haul jets for
its British Airways arm and said it was in further talks with
Airbus and Boeing to secure more planes for Spanish unit
Iberia.

The closely fought $6 billion order for the largest version
of Airbus’ newest jet is likely to step up competition with
Boeing over the lucrative “mini-jumbo” plane market, almost
entirely dominated by the U.S. manufacturer’s wide-bodied 777.

April 19 (Reuters) – Investors sent Boeing Co’s stock
higher on Friday as regulators appeared poised to end a
three-month grounding of the 787 Dreamliner that cost millions
of dollars and hurt the reputation of the world’s largest
planemaker.

Against a weaker U.S. stock market, Boeing shares
rose nearly 2.3 percent to $88.06 in early New York trading as
the Federal Aviation Administration put finishing touches to a
decision watched by airlines and aerospace firms worldwide.