K&L Gates has advised Japan Airlines (JAL) on a deal with Airbus which will see the Japanese carrier acquire 31 wide-body A350 jets from the European aircraft manufacturer.

The agreement, which is also likely to unsettle the Japanese aerospace industry that builds large portions of Boeing’s jets, includes options for another 25 of the A350s.

Tokyo partners Keiji Isaji, Atsushi Yamashita, and Robert Melson led the K&L Gates team, along with partner Trevor Beadle in London.

“This is a huge win for Airbus and a big loss for Boeing,” said aerospace analyst Scott Hamilton, managing director of Seattle-based Leeham Co, to Reuters.

“Airbus has been trying to break the wide-body monopoly of Boeing for decades and likewise, Boeing has been wanting to keep Airbus out of JAL and ANA.”

First deliveries of the A350 are expected in about a year, and JAL expects to start using the planes from about 2019.

Kanishk Verghese is North Asia journalist at ALB. Follow us on Twitter: @ALB_Magazine.

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