Airbus wins Paris crown, vows fight over Boeing’s 737 Max deal

Unsatisfied with easily beating Boeing Co. for orders at the Paris Air Show, Airbus SE promised a fight to unravel the expo’s biggest sales coup, the U.S. planemaker’s $24 billion deal for its embattled 737 Max planes.

Speaking at a final press conference Thursday, Airbus sales chief Christian Scherer said the company didn’t have a chance to compete for the agreement with British Airways owner IAG SA, which said it intended to buy 200 Max jets — a model that has been grounded since March after two deadly crashes. IAG is currently an Airbus-only customer for narrow-body jets and has said it plans to use the Max for its discount and leisure divisions, including Vueling and Level.

“We are taking the position that we would like to bid for this business,” Scherer told reporters at Le Bourget airfield outside the French capital. “IAG is a very good customer. Every one of these airlines are A320 operators. Our intent is to bid.”