Europe’s four-nation aircraft consortium has signed an...

Europe’s four-nation aircraft consortium has signed an agreement for its first sale to an Eastern European country, East Germany, signaling the start of a major Western offensive in the Soviet Bloc aircraft market. Interflug airline agreed to buy three extended-range A-310-300 Airbus jets for its international routes one week after the Western alliance’s trade watchdog body Cocom gave Airbus the go-ahead for the sale. No official price was announced but Airbus sources said the sale was worth more than $220 million. Airbus’ major rival, Boeing Co., has also applied for clearance from the Coordinating Committee for Multinational Export Control to sell its 767 airliners to Poland and Romania. The Airbus planes are assembled in Toulouse, France, from parts built in West Germany, Britain, Spain and France.