COMPUTER GENERATED IMAGE OF AIRBUS A3XX DOUBLE-DECKER PASSENGER JET, 2000-06-23 (photo)

UNDATED HAND OUT PHOTO - The planned Airbus Industrie A3XX double-decker passenger jets is seen in this computer generated image. Partners in European planemaker Airbus Industrie said on Friday they had struck a landmark deal to turn the consortium into a corporation and gave the group the go-ahead to offer its superjumbo A3XX plane to airlines. After years of struggling to transform Airbus and get the 555-seat double-decker aircraft off the ground, the partners effectively accomplished both feats in one fell swoop. The transformation of the Toulouse-based consortium into what will be called the Airbus Integrated Company (AIC) is expected to create annual cost savings of roughly 350 million euros ($328 million) by 2004, making the group a more efficient competitor. What paved the way for both announcements was the merger, announced last year, of three of the four Airbus members - Aerospatiale Matra, DaimlerChrysler Aerospace and Spain's Casa - to form EADS. JES/FMS