BA ditches Boeing jumbo for Airbus A380

By Pete Harrison and Jason Neely

LONDON (Reuters) - British Airways ended decades of loyalty to Boeing's 747 jumbo with a switch to Airbus's new A380 superjumbo on Thursday as it announced a mixed plane order worth up to $8.2 billion (4 billion pounds).

The order for 12 superjumbos from Airbus and 24 787 Dreamliners from Boeing Co will replace 34 of the airline's older longhaul planes.

BA Chief Executive Willie Walsh told reporters the airline would use the superjumbo to make best use of its limited take-off slots at crowded Heathrow airport.

He denied the company had experienced political pressure to buy the superjumbo, the wings and engines of which will be built in Britain.

"There was absolutely none," he told reporters. "There was no contact, be it formal or informal. The decision was made in the best interest of British Airways. In the engines, the choice of Rolls-Royce was because British is best."

The A380 is the biggest airliner in production, and its first delivery due next month, to Singapore Airlines, comes after wiring troubles triggered a costly two-year delay and management upheaval at Airbus.

The doubledecker has a maximum seating capacity of 853 passengers, though most airlines plan to use configurations of fewer than 650, which is still a jump from Boeing's jumbo, which BA currently flies with a maximum of 351 seats.

BA took delivery of its first jumbo on April 22, 1970, becoming just the fifth airline to get one.