The Government is putting pressure on British Airways, the national flag carrier, to buy Airbus aircraft and Rolls-Royce engines to protect jobs in this country.

BA is weeks away from announcing whether it will buy $6 billion (£2.95 billion) of new aircraft from Boeing or Airbus.

It will spend about $1.5 billion more on engines from either Rolls-Royce or America’s General Electric. Government ministers and officials are understood to be urging Willie Walsh, chief executive of BA, to “buy British” by supporting Rolls and Airbus, both of which have large manufacturing operations in the UK.

BA traditionally has been a Boeing customer for long-haul aircraft, but the airline is considering proposals from both manufacturers.

Airbus employs about 13,000 in Britain at its wing-assembly factory in Broughton, North Wales, and at its wing-design centre at Filton, near Bristol. Rolls-Royce employs 12,500 people at its engine factory in Derby.

As a publicly owned company, BA is under no obligation to consider national interest when buying new aircraft.

However, the aviation sector is heavily regulated and BA’s future growth will depend on government support for new infrastructure such as additional runways at Heathrow, Stansted and Gatwick.

Last night a BA spokesman denied that the Government was putting pressure on the company over the fleet renewal programme. He said that no government representations had been made.

This was rejected by a source close to the negotiations. He said: “This is something the Government is concerned about and taking an active interest in.”

BA’s imminent fleet acquisition will be the largest ever by the airline, although initial plans to spend $1 billion a year for the next dozen years have been scaled back.

BA will now buy 14 aircraft to replace ageing 767s and a further 20 to replace 747-400s.

Boeing is offering its popular 787 and 747-8, while Airbus is proposing the A350, which is still on the drawing board, and the double-decker A380.

BA bought four Boeing 777s and took options on a further four earlier this year.

These aircraft will be used to expand BA’s capacity and Mr Walsh has emphasised that their acquisition should not been seen as an indicator for the larger fleet renewal programme.

Aviation analysts are convinced that BA will remain a loyal Boeing customer, but competitive pressures could force it to add the giant A380 to its fleet.

Many airlines prefer to keep maintenance and pilot training costs low by buying from only one aircraft manufacturer, but the unique capabilities of the A380 mean that a number of Boeing-affiliated airlines are adding the Airbus product to their fleets.

The first A380 will start flying with Singapore Airlines next month and other carriers are beginning to worry about how to compete with it.

The A380 is so large that airlines such as Singapore and Emirates can devote an entire deck to business and first-class passengers.

These premium passengers are the most profitable for an airline, so carriers with the A380 could make substantially more money than those without.

Cathay Pacific has responded to the threat of Singapore running A380s from Asia to Australia by increasing flight frequency on that route.

If BA buys A380s, it is likely to deploy them on the Hong Kong and Johannesburg routes, with Sydney and Dubai also candidates.

This may force other airlines to buy the A380 in order to compete - a situation that Airbus is well aware of.

Aviation sources said that Airbus was offering BA an “extremely attractive” package to entice Mr Walsh into buying the A380.

Rolls-Royce and Airbus, which is owned by EADS, the Paris-listed aero-space giant that also builds satellites and military aircraft, are two of the largest manufacturers in the UK.

Airbus’s operation in Britain is a result of a partnership between Britain, France, Germany and Spain that created the company in the 1970s.

Germany assembles fuselage sections, Britain makes the wings and Spain makes tail sections.

These are all transported to Airbus’s headquarters in Toulouse, southern France, for final assembly.

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