Flight International Online news 09:00GMT: Spanish airline Air Madrid is reported to be finalising a purchase of 15 Airbus A350 aircraft, although it has not ruled out acquiring a similar number of Boeing 787s.
A report in Spanish business newspaper La Gaceta de los Negocios cites Air Madrid chairman Jose Luis Carrillo as saying he expects to select the A350 for the airline's long-haul fleet and that the first aircraft will be due for delivery in 2010.
"The discussions with Airbus are already fairly advanced," Carrillo is quoted as saying, although the airline chief points out that rival aircraft manufacturer Boeing is offering "very advantageous conditions" for 15 787 aircraft.
"Nothing is finished as yet, the negotiations take a long time, but in principle we're going for a homogeneous fleet of A350s," Carrillo says.
"We are at a reasonably advanced stage of talks with Airbus to place an order for 15 aircraft of the A350 model, that would be around $100 million per aircraft."
The deal would be another major order for Airbus from Spain this year following Iberia's decision earlier this year decided to acquire up to 79 Airbus narrowbodies to replace its Boeing MD-80s, 757s and older Airbus A320s
This move came as a severe disappointment to Boeing which has invested heavily in Spain in recent years.
Spanish start-up Vueling also plans to add six leased Airbus A320s to its fleet next year. The Barcelona-based carrier in March signed a six-year agreement with International Lease Finance (ILFC) for the CFM International CFM56-powered aircraft.
AIMEE TURNER / LONDON
Source: Flight International
