1.
GV Hotel de Crillon
0.08

2.
SV INTERIOR..Dr. Strauss signs(right) and passes
agreement to M. Ziegler who signs and passes it back, they rise and shake hands
0.43

3.
SV Audience
0.48

4.
SV M. Ziegler speaks in French "Dans catte enterprise...production de
cet appareil".
2.00



Initials GL/MR/ES.11.30


EDITORS NOTE: NATURAL SOUND THROUGHOUT

Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Background: The European airbus
project took a big step forward yesterday (Friday), with the formation of a new
Franco-German company, Airbus Industries, to build and market the massive
shorthaul airliner, the A300B.

The agreement to build the airbus was signed on the 29 May 1969 by the West
German Economics Ministers and the French Minister of Transport. Yesterday's
signing brought together the main participants in the commercial undertaking,
Aerospaciale of France, represented by its president, M. Henri Ziegler, and
Deutsche Airbus, represented by its president, Dr. Franz-Josef Strauss.

At the Press conference which followed the signing, M. Ziegler said the Dutch
Government and the British privately-owned Hawker Siddeley Aviation Company,
would be associated with the new company soon.

The British Government was invited to participate in the project but withdrew
earlier this month.

The A300B, designed to carry 260 to 300 passengers, is expected to go into
commercial service in late 1973 or early 1974. M. Ziegler said the aircraft
would cost about 12 million dollars (five million sterling), or about half as
much as the U.S. Boeing-747 "Jumbo" jet. He said a market survey indicated that
at least 500 airbuses would be sold: "We might be able to sell as many as 1,000
in the next decade", he added.

M. Ziegler noted that Air France had already placed an order for six airbuses,
and the West German airline Lufthansa was expected to follow suit shortly. He
said TAP of Portugal, Alitalia of Italy and Sabena of Belgium were also expected
to place orders within the next 12 months.

M. Ziegler went on to describe how the airbus will be assembled from components
made in four countries, the fuselage by Aerospaciale and Deutsche Airbus, the
wings by Hawker Siddeley and the wing leading and trailing edges by the Dutch
company Fokker. The engines will be made in a fifth country, by General Electric
of the United States, but Rolls Royce of Britain, who are developing engines for
Lockheed's rival American Airbus, may be asked to power more advanced versions
of the A300B.