PARIS - Airbus said Monday it wants suppliers to its A350 XWB mid-sized airliner to fund over 15 per cent of the cost of the project, the company's 11.6 billion euro ($15.4 billion) answer to the Boeing 787 "Dreamliner."

Airbus President and Chief Executive Louis Gallois, center, flanked by Chief Operating Officers John Leahy, right, and Fabrice Bregier, left, ponders a question, during a press conference, in Paris Monday Dec. 4, 2006. [AP]

But the European planemaker said no decision had been made on the rest of the funding or where to build the new plane, planned to enter service in 2013.

Giving his first news conference as Airbus CEO, Louis Gallois confirmed the overall program cost but warned that he would give no information about future increases unless the budget was altered by a "material" amount.

"We feel under no obligation to update these figures in the future, any more than our competition does," Gallois said. Boeing refuses to say how much it is spending on the 787.

Monday's presentation was scheduled at short notice, three days after the board of Airbus parent EADS approved the launch of the A350 - which is badly needs to plug a gap in the European aircraft maker's product line. Airbus is set to fall behind Boeing on orders this year for the first time since 2000.

The overall program cost includes 10 billion euros ($13.3 billion) in research and development funding and a further 1.6 billion euros ($2.1 billion) of capital expenditure announced by Gallois, who also stayed on as EADS co-chief executive after his appointment in October to replace departing Airbus boss Christian Streiff.

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