Airbus to announce "significant order" from Japanese airline on Friday

[TOKYO] Europe's Airbus Group said it will announce a "significant order" from a Japanese airline on Friday at a press conference hosted by its CEO Fabrice Bregier.

The briefing on Friday will be at 0100 GMT, the European company said in an e-mailed invitation. The company did not give any further detail of the deal.

A spokeswoman for Japan's biggest carrier, ANA Holdings, said the airline did not currently have any plans to hold a press conference on Friday. A spokesman for the nation's No.2 carrier, Japan Airlines, also said no briefing was planned.

Airbus, which in January announced a deal to sell three A380 super jumbos to ANA, has long lagged its competitor Boeing Co in Japan, with the latter benefiting from strong ties to local aerospace companies such as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries that build significant portions of its jetliners.

A big deal in Japan would help Airbus narrow that gap, while also taking it closer to its target to sell 670 planes globally this year. As of October, that tally stood at 585.

REUTERS