FARNBOROUGH, July 15, 2008 (AFP) - Tunisair confirmed here on Tuesday a deal to buy 16 energy-efficient Airbus passenger jets worth a total of about 2.0 billion dollars (1.25 billion euros).

Tunisair said on the second day of the Farnborough International Airshow, outside London, that it had agreed to purchase three extra-wide-bodied A350s, three mid-sized A330s and ten single-aisle A320 planes.

Tunisair had already announced plans to purchase the Airbus jets in April during a visit to Tunisia by French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Airbus, owned by European aerospace giant EADS, is a mainly Franco-German company.

Airbus intends to launch the A350 in 2013 as a rival to the Dreamliner 787 being produced by US planemaker Boeing, which will come onto the market in 2009.