Air France plans to solicit plane bids

Air France-KLM Group, Europe’s biggest airline, plans to ask Airbus and Boeing Co. for bids next year for about 100 long-range, medium-size aircraft, the company’s chief financial officer said.

Air France will look at Airbus’ A350 XWB offerings and at Boeing’s 787 planes. Philippe Calavia, Air France’s chief financial officer, said in an interview that the airline has always flown General Electric Co. engines on its long-haul planes and would want the planes to have engines built by that company.

Both General Electric and Rolls-Royce offer engines to power the 787. Rolls-Royce is currently the only engine maker powering the Airbus plane, even though Airbus is negotiating with General Electric, both companies said this month.

Calavia spoke at a luncheon after the announcement of financial results at the carrier.