THE £1billion deal with the China for 30 European Airbus jetliners is a big boost for East Lancashire.

It secures the jobs of thousands of workers at British Aerospace, which is part of the Airbus consortium, and injects spin-off orders into their suppliers in our region, boosting its economy generally.

But it is not just as a business deal that this mammoth order is welcome.

For it also provides a firmer future for the vital skills that the Lancashire aerospace industry has and diversifies their dependence on defence orders.

Furthermore, this big breakthrough into the massive Chinese market dents the American dominance of the commercial aviation market.

Previous news story

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.