Decision to be made over where superjumbo is to be buitl.

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A decision about where Airbus Industrie`s proposed superjumbo jet aircraft will be assembled is imminent, with the company`s supervisory board due to meet to discuss the issue today (8 December).

Airbus Industrie`s

managing director Noel Forgeard has said that in order to get commitments of interest for the proposed A3XX aircraft, the company needed to decide where the aircraft would be assembled. Speculation at the moment indicates that Toulouse, France is the preferred site, but Germany is apparently keen to have the aircraft assembled in Hamburg, or for other, narrow-bodied, aircraft manufactured by Airbus to be produced in Germany as a trade off.

Despite the wrangling over the assembly site, the biggest issue is still demand, especially as Airbus has hopes of offering the aircraft to airlines in 2000, with delivery dates scheduled for 2005. Further, a recent meeting held for carriers to discuss the A3XX has indicated that a freighter version of the aircraft may be more popular than a passenger carrier.

Today`s meeting is also expected to result in pre-launch approval for the A3XX project. The Airbus consortium is comprised of Aerospatiale Matra, DaimlerChrysler Aerospace, Casa - which are soon to be combined in a new company called EADS- and BAE SYSTEMS, formerly known as British Aerospace.