AER LINGUS is to sign a $400m (€330m) deal for the delivery of four Airbus A330 aircraft — the first stage of chief executive Dermot Mannion’s eagerly awaited long-haul expansion. The deal also represents a significant coup for the European plane maker in its tussle with Boeing.

The first aircraft will be delivered in the final quarter of this year, with the remainder scheduled for 2007. Final details have yet to be concluded, however it is expected that the deal will put Airbus in prime position to conclude a much larger deal with Aer Lingus on its new generation A350 at a later date.

The airline said that it would be “premature” to say an order has been placed and added that the airline was still negotiating with both Boeing and Airbus on its future fleet requirements.

Aer Lingus has seven long-haul aircraft, but Mannion has indicated that the airline is planning a “significant expansion” of the fleet as part of a €2 billion aircraft-buying programme.

The Airbus deal will represent a coup for Mannion. The recovery in the airline industry has led to a scarcity of aircraft for lease or purchase.

Mannion is expected to insist on an option to upgrade the fleet to the more expensive but more efficient A350 aircraft at a later date. The double-decker A350 is the European manufacturer’s answer to the highly successful Boeing 787. The long-haul wide-bodied aircraft is the new battleground for the two world premier manufacturers.

Airbus has 172 orders and commitments for the wide-body A350 from 13 customers, but it still trails Boeing, which has chalked up more than 200 orders for its 787 Dreamliner.

The A350 is expected to render the A330 obsolete. However, the new aircraft will not roll off the ramp until 2010 at the earliest. The upcoming deal will be seen therefore as an interim arrangement, but will almost certainly tie Aer Lingus to Airbus for the medium term.

The delivery of the first aircraft will coincide with the relaxation of the current restrictions on transatlantic services. The airline is expected to announce three new routes across the Atlantic in November this year.