Airbus chief positive on A330neo

[FRANKFURT] The head of planemaker Airbus has voiced growing support for plans to upgrade a popular wide-body jet to sharpen its contest for plane sales with Boeing, while urging European authorities to weaken the euro to help exporters compete.

In a trio of European newspaper interviews published yesterday, Fabrice Bregier, chief executive of the flagship division of Airbus Group, said there were predictions of strong demand for an enhanced version of the A330.

The possibility is "growing every day" that Airbus will go ahead with the so-called "A330neo", though not necessarily at next week's Farnborough Airshow, he told the Financial Times. The newspaper quoted him as saying it might be possible to sell more than 1,000 of the revamped aircraft.