Korean Air to spend $1.58b on passenger jets

SEOUL, May 3 (AFP): South Korea's flag carrier Korean Air said Tuesday it would buy a total of seven passenger planes from Airbus and Boeing for nearly $1.58 billion. The airline said the planes-five Airbus A330-200s and two Boeing B777-300ERs-would cost 1.685 trillion won ($1.577 billion) and be bought between May 2011 and September 2015. Airbus, the airliner manufacturing subsidiary of European aerospace group EADS, said Korean Air has placed a firm order for five long-haul A330-200s worth about $1 billion. Korean Air is buying the planes as part of an aggressive strategy to win customers from regioanl rivals.