Boeing Loses Sabena Order To Airbus

In a blow to Boeing Co., Belgian airline Sabena announced Tuesday it is switching to Airbus Industrie, awarding its biggest airplane contract ever to the European consortium.

The decision came after a heated contract battle between Seattle-based Boeing and the European producers and after consultations between Sabena and Swissair, which owns 49.5 percent of Sabena and already has 34 Airbus planes in its fleet.

Sabena said it will begin to replace its aging fleet of Boeing medium-haul 737 aircraft with 34 Airbus planes as soon as possible.