Aer Lingus intends to add two more aircraft to its long-haul fleet as new destinations in the United States open up to the airline.

It has signed a letter of intent with Airbus to purchase two new Airbus A330 long-haul aircraft which will serve the new routes. The routes have not been chosen yet, but it is understood San Francisco and Philadelphia are being considered.

The aircraft involved have a list price of about €85 million each, although Aer Lingus may have received a discount. The deal will be financed by debt.

Final contractual discussions with Airbus and General Electric, which is providing the engines, should be completed shortly. Both aircraft will be delivered in mid-2007 and will be based at Dublin airport.

The decision to select Airbus will come as a blow to US manufacturer Boeing, which has been pursuing business from Aer Lingus.

The airline is anticipating changes to the current bilateral agreement between Ireland and the US, which restricts the carrier to the routes between Ireland and New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Boston. It is also entitled to fly into Washington DC, although this route has been discontinued.

The Minister for Transport, Martin Cullen, said the aircraft order was the start of a major expansion. "With access to external capital, I am confident that we can look forward to many similar announcements over the months and years ahead."

The deal, when completed, will bring to nine the number of Airbus A330 long-haul aircraft in the Aer Lingus fleet. The airline presently has 27 short-haul aircraft of which six are Airbus A321s and 21 are A320s.

Aer Lingus chief executive Dermot Mannion described the deal as an "interim step", but said a larger, more expensive long-haul fleet deal still needed to be done.

"This is an important interim step for Aer Lingus and demonstrates our commitment to developing and enhancing our long-haul network. Appropriate debt financing will be put in place well in advance of delivery."