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Airbus lands US Air deal
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July 2, 1998: 9:55 a.m. ET
Airline may buy up to 30 widebody jets in deal valued at $3.7 billion
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - US Airways Group Inc. said Thursday it has agreed to order as many as 30 widebody planes from European consortium Airbus Industrie, an order that could total as much as $3.7 billion.
The move is a blow to Boeing Co., which had been U.S. Air's longtime supplier of widebody jets.
In making the commitment for Airbus' A-330-300 twinjets, US Air said the deal includes seven firm orders, seven orders to reconfirm and options to purchase 16 more.
The companies didn't disclose financial details. Based on the list price of Airbus A-330-300 jets, the deal would be valued at $3.7 billion if US Air elects to buy all 30 of the 278-seat planes.
The companies said the first A330 will be delivered in the fourth quarter of 1999, with six others in 2000. Orders to be reconfirmed cover aircraft for delivery in 2001.
US Air has the option of converting the aircraft under option into A330-200s or 4-engine A340s.
The companies didn't announce an engine choice for the aircraft.
Airbus Industrie is a consortium composed of French state-owned Aerospatiale, British Aerospace PLC, Germany's Daimler-Benz Aerospace, a unit of Daimler-Benz AG, and Construcciones Aeronauticas SA (CASA) of Spain.
Arlington, Va.-based US Air said it will continue to use its current fleet of 12 Boeing 767-200s in international service in the near term before moving them to longer-haul domestic routes.
Relations between US Air and Boeing may have been strained by a breach-of-contract lawsuit Boeing filed last year. The suit alleged US Air defaulted on payments and breached long-standing contracts to purchase 48 Boeing jetliners.
In April, the parties settled the suit, with the airline paying an undisclosed amount while acknowledging the breach and dropping its own countersuit against Boeing.
Shares of US Air (U) closed at 78-15/16, off 5/16 in Wednesday trading. Boeing (BA) shares finished up 2-7/8 to close at 47-7/16. 
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