The European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company (EADS) announced Thursday shareholders in its Airbus unit approved the launching of A350.

European aircraft maker Airbus is owned 80 percent by EADS and 20 percent by British BAE Systems.

EADS also said Airbus would temporarily put aside offers of government loans from Britain, France, Spain and Germany, as trade dispute is being developed between the European Union and United States.

"Airbus, EADS and BAE Systems have decided that no disbursement (of loans) should take place throughout 2006 as long as there is a credible prospect of negotiations and similar restraint is being undertaken in the United States," EADS said in a statement.

EADS said Airbus had already received 140 orders for the A350 from nine different airlines. The company hopes to have 200 commitments by the end of the year.

A350, a mid-sized carrier, is the main rival of the US Boeing's planned 787 Dreamliner. It will enter service in 2010 after Airbus 's A380 superjumbo, the biggest commercial plane in the world capable of carrying up to 840 passengers on long-haul flights.

In an interview with financial daily La Tribune in the paper's Thursday edition, French Transport Minister Dominique Perben confirmed that the deployment of possible aid to A350 would not be immediate.

France has agreed "in principle" to provide funding, but the dossier is still "in the process of being examined", according to Perben.

Source: Xinhua