Boeing hopes WTO ruling will derail Airbus A350 aid

WASHINGTON Aug 27 (Reuters) - Boeing (BA.N) hopes a preliminary World Trade Organization panel ruling next week will force European governments to reconsider plans to help finance Airbus' (EAD.PA) planned A350 widebody passenger jet, a company official said on Thursday.

The confidential ruling comes at a "very contemporary moment as far as launch aid is concerned," Ted Austell, Boeing's vice president for government operations, told reporters.

"Since the Paris Air Show, the sponsoring European governments of Airbus have been talking about new launch aid for the A350, and we are hoping the interim decision will be informative enough that it will arrest any new launch aid for that aircraft which has the same shape and texture of previous launch aid," Austell said.

(Reporting by Doug Palmer; Editing by Sandra Maler)