Airbus SAS and Boeing Co, the world's two largest planemakers, are in negotiations to sell long-range aircraft to Gulf Air, as the government carrier seeks to start non-stop flights to Australia and resume service to the US.

Gulf Air, the Persian Gulf's oldest carrier, is in talks with Airbus about four-engine A340-models and with Boeing for the 777 and 7E7 planes, Gulf Air Chief Executive James Hogan, said in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The airline may place orders as early as January, he said, with planes each costing about US$200 million.

"We're interested in flying non-stop from the Gulf to Sydney, avoiding having to pass through Singapore," Hogan said. The order will be for fewer than 10 aircraft, he said. The new aircraft, the carrier's first since 2000, would come into service in 2006.

Airbus overtook Boeing as the world's largest maker of passenger planes last year for the first time. Chicago-based Boeing is seeking a comeback with its first new model in 15 years, the 7E7, which is supposed to be 20 per cent more fuel efficient than other aircraft in its category.

Gulf Air may use the long-range aircraft to resume flights to the US, after ending them in 1997, Hogan said.

The Manama, Bahrain-based carrier, which is owned by the governments of Abu Dhabi, Bahrain and Oman, operates a fleet of 35 aircraft, including nine wide-body A340s and nine Boeing 767s. Adding to its fleet is part of a plan to reach as many as 60 aircraft by 2013, Hogan said.

"Airbus doesn't comment on sales campaigns," said David Velupillai, a spokesman at Airbus's Toulouse headquarters.

Last year, Gulf Air rival Emirates became the first airline to make use of Airbus' A340-500, capable of flying non-stop from the Middle East to Australia's eastern cities. Dubai-based Emirates, flies the model to Sydney and New York.

Gulf Air also plans to replace single-aisle A320 aircraft at a later date, Hogan said.

(China Daily September 9, 2004)