share: digg facebook twitter LE BOURGET, France (AP) — Boeing Co. announced the first big-ticket order in its rivalry with Airbus at the start of the Paris Air Show on Monday, saying Qatar Airways has ordered six 777 jets in a $1.7 billion deal. The upstart, fast-growing Gulf carrier is buying extended versions of the long-range jet, the 777-300, Qatar Airways CEO Akbar al-Baker said during a news conference alongside Boeing's commercial aircraft chief. Airbus has booked more than 330 orders and commitments for the aircraft — a revamped A320 version that has been re-engineered to be 15 percent more fuel efficient — since its commercial launch in December.