Airbus, the world's largest maker of commercial aircraft, has won orders and commitments valued at US$32 billion from Arab customers at the 2007 Paris Air Show, as Middle Eastern carriers snubbed rival US supplier Boeing.

Airbus got firm contracts from airlines or leasing companies based in Arab countries for aircraft valued at US$24.7 billion and commitments for planes with a value of US$7.3 billion at the recent show.

Boeing's only Middle Eastern contract during the show was an agreement to advise Abu Dhabi and Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, on developing their aerospace industries.

Persian Gulf airlines including Etihad, Qatar Airways and Emirates have been among the top customers for France-based Airbus and Boeing as the region's governments set up hubs for tourism and transit flights between Europe, Asia and Africa.

A redesign of the planned 250- to 350-seat A350 model helped Airbus beat Chicago-based Boeing in orders at the Paris show.

"With the A350XWB, they finally have a legitimate competitor in the size range and it's generating the appropriate level of interest," Richard Pinkham, analyst at the Center for Asia Pacific Aviation in Singapore, said. "They're coming back, as everybody, including Boeing, knew they eventually would."

Arab airlines are expected to increase their combined fleet by almost two-thirds to 900 aircraft by 2015 from 550 planes last year.

Meanwhile, British billionaire Richard Branson of Virgin Group is touted to be taking a stake in Malaysia's new AirAsia long-haul budget airline, The Star newspaper reported. Branson would take a 20 percent stake in Fly Asian Express, teaming up with Asia's aviation tycoon Tony Fernandes to run flights from Malaysia to China, Europe and Australia.

It said AirAsia chief executive Fernandes and his deputy Kamarudin Meranum would sell 20 percent of their stake to Branson, the founder of Virgin Group.

At the same time Bangladesh's ailing national carrier will drop Biman from its name under a restructuring plan by the military-backed government.

"Bangladesh Biman Airlines will be named Bangladesh Airlines when it is made a public limited company later this month," company spokesman Khan Mosharraf Hossain said.