MOSCOW - Russian state flag carrier Aeroflot will acquire 22 Airbus A350 jets and could also soon sign a contract to get between 10 and 15 smaller A330s as part of a major upgrade of its fleet, a company official said Thursday.

Delivery of the A330s would begin by the end of 2008 under an "operating lease" agreement, while the A350s would be delivered starting in 2015, Aeroflot spokeswoman Irina Dannenberg told The Associated Press. A final contract for both models would be signed in coming weeks.

She refused to say how much the deal would be worth.

The deal is a spot of good news for troubled Airbus, which has suffered management woes, lost orders and seen production delays for the double-decker A380 superjumbo jet that have wiped more than $6.6 billion off profit forecasts.

Airbus is seeking to recoup those losses by cutting 10,000 jobs and spinning off or closing six of its European manufacturing plants.

The Airbus order also comes amid a continuing struggle in Russia by rival Boeing Co., whose competing efforts to supply the Russian airline with 22 787s have been stymied by what some analysts say is the chill in relations between Washington and Moscow.

"The talks (with Boeing) are frozen," Dannenberg told AP.

Asked about the status of the Boeing talks, Aeroflot CEO Valery Okulov was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying: "It's hard to estimate by what degree and to talk about the prospects for unfreezing it."

The A350 is touted as the European manufacturer's answer to rival Boeing's 777 and the upcoming 787 "Dreamliner."

Aeroflot has a fleet of 88 planes, according to its Web site.

Russia has been angling to playing a bigger role in Airbus's parent company, European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co., where it already holds a 5 percent stake through state-controlled bank Vneshtorgbank.

Those efforts have sparked concerns among some European politicians and business leaders who fear a greater role by the newly assertive Russia in a major strategic European corporation.

The Financial Times, meanwhile, reported Thursday that Qatar Airways is close to ordering up to 80 A350 jets. Qatar CEO Akbar Al Baker was quoted as saying that the company could order sign a contract for the planes by the middle of the year.

Airbus is negotiating with airlines but cannot confirm a Qatar order, said Laetitia Stauff, a spokeswoman at the aircraft maker's headquarters in Toulouse, southwest France, on Thursday.