By Chris Genna, Contributing Editor

Le BOURGET, France - The champagne corks may have been popping at The Boeing Co. Friday after Singapore Airlines announced it had chosen Boeing's extended-range 777-200ER to serve its ultra-long-range routes between Singapore and Europe.

The airline announced in Singapore that it would exercise 10 options from a 777 order it placed in November 1995 - a deal Boeing valued at $1.9 billion. The original order, for 34 firm orders and 43 options -- was placed just five months after the 777 entered service.

Boeing officials in Paris got word of the carrier's announcement about 10 a.m., said Boeing spokesman Sean Griffin, and spent another 40 minutes trying to get confirmation before issuing their own press release here confirming it.

"It's a great way to close the show," Griffin said of the news, released practically at the closing bell of the 1999 Paris Air Show. "This was a big one - whichever way they went was probably going to be the long-range fleet strategy for Singapore."

The announcement was a blow to Boeing's arch-rival, Airbus Industrie. The airline said its decision "will allow SIA to phase out progressively the A340-300 fleet, which is currently deployed on the thinner routes to Europe and North America."

The 777-200ER in the longest-range airline in the world currently in service, said Boeing's Joe Ozimek. It typically seats 305 passengers in a conventional, three-class arrangement.

Griffin said Boeing agreed to remarket Singapore's entire fleet of 17 Airbus A340-300s "sort of like a trade-in." He said Boeing has done such things in past orders, "usually in onesies or twosies" - he said it's highly unusual to take an entire fleet of airplanes before some are even delivered. Singapore has yet to take delivery of two of the 17 Airbus jets. The airline probably will turn the Airbuses over to Boeing singly or in small numbers as it receives the 777s.

Boeing, perhaps sensitized by news organizations like Reuters' hard look at what is and is not a "confirmed sale" among all the claims in the intensely competitive Paris Air Show, is not adding the value ofthe 10 777s to its air show total.

The Boeing Company has announced firm orders for 62 jetliners valued at approximately $3 billion at Paris, not including International Lease Finance Corp.'s decision to purchase 50 Next-Generation 737s and option 50 more. ILFC CEO Steven F. Udvar-Hazy said that order will be signed next month, but no business issues remain to be settled.