International Lease Finance Corp, the world's largest airline leasing company, ordered 63 Boeing jets with a total list price of US$8.8 billion, the company announced at the Paris Air Show on June 19.

Fifty of the planes are the 787 Dreamliners, making Los Angeles-based ILFC the biggest customer for the first commercial jet made of light, sturdy, carbon-fiber composites instead of aluminum.

US leasing firm Intrepid Aviation firmed up an order for 20 A330-200F freight planes worth US$3.5 billion at list prices.

Intrepid was the first customer for the latest model of the Airbus cargo plane when it made a preliminary order in January.

Sales of the 787 have far outstripped those of rival Airbus' A350 after the European company - responding to customer complaints - decided to redesign its jet and pushed back its delivery date until 2013. The first deliveries of the Dreamliner are due in May 2008.

Heading into the fair, Chicago-based Boeing had already pocketed 584 orders for the Dreamliner, compared with Airbus' 13 orders for its A350.

But Airbus, which has been struggling to keep pace with US rival Boeing after botched management of its flagship A380, predicted on June 19 that it will win at least 600 firm orders for its aircraft this year, including more than 20 for the double-decker A380.

In a slew of deals announced on June 18 for all models totaling around US$45 billion, Airbus added a total of 92 firm orders for the A350 to its previous 13, including a deal to supply Qatar Airlines with 80 of the jets in a deal worth around US$16 billion.

"I can tell you with full confidence that Airbus is back," co-chief executive Louis Gallois said at the show at Le Bourget, north of Paris, and added that more plane orders were expected on June 19.

On June 18, Airbus picked up three firm orders for the A380 from Qatar Airways and signed memorandums of understanding for a further eight with Emirates and two with Air France. That means the planemaker currently has a total of 163 firm orders for the plane.

Wiring and other technical problems have led to a two-year delay in delivery of the plane, which is expected to wipe EUR4.8 billion off the profit of parent company European Aeronautic Defense & Space over the next four years.

Gallois was upbeat at June 19's news conference: "We are in a process of turning the company around and this new management structure is, for you, the first tangible evidence that we are progressing."

Airbus said it had received the go ahead from European aviation authorities for an onboard mobile phone system.

In a statement, Airbus said it was the first aircraft maker to win approval from the European Aviation Safety Agency for its GSM on-board system. Passengers will be able to make and receive calls in addition to being able to send and receive e-mails and text messages once the system is in place, Airbus said.

The Paris show comes amid revived fortunes for the commercial airline industry. After two years in the red, the industry will make a profit of just over US$5 billion this year, despite rising fuel costs, says the International Air Transport Association.