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LONDON (AFP) - British Airways ordered 12 Airbus superjumbo A380s and 24 of Boeing's new 787 Dreamliners on Tuesday in a giant deal to modernise its fleet worth 8.2 billion dollars (5.7 billion euros) at catalogue prices.

The order for the A380 is the first time the British airline has opted for longhaul Airbus planes and is a vital vote of confidence in the superjumbo, which has been hit by production problems and delivery delays.

"The Airbus A380 will provide a great solution for our high density markets and get the most out of scarce London Heathrow (landing) slots," said British Airways chief executive Willie Walsh, who said the plane was ideal for routes to Asia, west coast United States and South Africa.

BA has options for a further seven Airbus A380s and another 18 Boeing Dreamliners. All the planes are to be be equipped with Rolls-Royce engines and will be delivered between 2010 and 2014.

The Boeing Dreamliner, a midsized longhaul jet, is the US company's first new commercial airliner in 13 years and has so far eclipsed Airbus's equivalent model, the A350.

Airbus and Boeing are fierce rivals in the market for large commercial aircraft, but are currently profiting from an upturn in air travel and decisions by major airlines to renew their fleets.

Both the A380 and Dreamliner have been marketed as "environmentally friendly" planes by the manufacturers, who have stressed the lower fuel consumption and reduced sound pollution benefits.

In a reflection of how airlines are under pressure over their environmental record, Walsh stressed how "green" criteria had determined the choice of aircraft.

"These aircraft set the gold standard when it comes to environmental performance in the key areas of CO2 emissions, local air quality and noise. They will contribute significantly to our target of improving fuel efficiency by 25 percent between 2005 and 2025," Walsh said.

"They are also much quieter than their predecessors, which is of vital importance at Heathrow (airport). Both the A380 and B787 are rated as producing a quarter of the noise level of the B747-400," he said.

The British airline operates out of London's Heathrow airport, the world's busiest, which suffers from a shortage of landing slots and has become a focus for protests against air travel.

Nearly 2,000 British police were deployed to monitor a large demonstration by climate change campaigners against the airport in August.

Airbus hailed the order for the A380 as "another breakthrough" for its star plane, which is the world's biggest airliner. The first delivery is planned for next month to launch client Singapore Airlines.

Deliveries are 18 months behind schedule however because of production difficulties, which has irked clients and led to financial losses for Airbus.

British Airways said it would continue to consider the most suitable aircraft to replace its remaining Boeing B747-400 aircraft and was examining the Boeing B787-10 and B777-300 ER and the Airbus A350XWB.

Walsh said a decision on this order would be made "by the end of next year, early 2009."

The airline said it has arranged for a group of banks to provide 1.5 billion dollars of debt financing to cover all of the airline's firm orders to the end of 2011.

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