§ Mr. HoyleTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the impact on the United Kingdom aerospace industry of the award of the contract to Airbus Industries to provide aircraft for US Airways. [51038]
§ Mr. Battle[holding answer 17 July 1998]The UK's industrial partner in Airbus, British Aerospace, has a 20 per cent. stake in Airbus which brings considerable 403W economic benefits to the UK. Airbus and related businesses support 25,000 UK jobs in 300 companies, and contribute £1 billion to the UK trade balance. Airbus is an excellent example of European industrial co-operation. In the first half of this year Airbus has estimated that it has won 52 per cent. of the world market for large civil aircraft.
The US Airways order was for up to thirty A330–300 aircraft, comprising 7 firm orders, 7 options, and 16 reserved production positions. The 14 orders and options are estimated to be worth over $1,500 million. Orders such as this demonstrate Airbus' continuing technical and commercial excellence.