British Midland sets sights on US

BRITISH MIDLAND, the country's second-biggest scheduled airline, yesterday signalled its confidence of winning the right to fly from London to the United States by announcing plans to buy six aircraft worth pounds 300m.

The airline said it had obtained an outline agreement with both Boeing and Airbus to deliver two aircraft in spring 2000. Only one manufacturer will be finally selected to supply the fleet.

Earlier this year British Midland applied for licences to serve 10 US destinations from Heathrow, including New York, Washington DC, Chicago and Los Angeles.