P.M. BRIEFING : $4.5-Billion Texas Air Jet Order
From Times Wire Services
NEW YORK —
Texas Air Corp. said today it has placed firm orders for 20 Airbus Industrie A330 and A340 long-range aircraft and has options for 20 more for its Continental Airlines subsidiary, in a deal valued at $4.5 billion.
The wide-body aircraft are slightly smaller than Boeing 747 jumbo jets and compete with the MD-11 plane produced by McDonnell Douglas Corp.
The order is the second big aircraft purchase this week. On Tuesday, Delta Air Lines Inc. said it would spend as much as $10 billion on McDonnell Douglas jetliners and Boeing Co. aircraft in one of the biggest orders on record.
In July, Texas Air placed firm orders for 50 narrow-body Boeing Co. aircraft and took out options on 50 more in a deal valued at $2.8 billion.
