Corrected - Boeing launches 787-10 with $30 billion of orders

(Corrects first paragraph of June 18 story to make clear orders are provisional not firm)

PARIS (Reuters) - Boeing launched the 787-10 version of its flagship Dreamliner aircraft at the Paris Airshow on Tuesday with 102 provisional orders worth nearly $30 billion at list prices.

The news came after rival Airbus clinched an $11.5 billion order from UK budget airline easyJet for 135 A320neos, including 35 current-generation planes and 100 next-generation versions, with options for a further 100 aircraft.

Boeing's much-anticipated launch with five airlines and leasing companies marked a sign of support for the 787 just months after the first version was grounded due to battery problems.

 

The buyers are Air Lease with 30 planes, GE Capital Services with 10, British Airways with 12, Singapore Airlines with 30 and United Airlines with 20.

United's order includes 10 new planes and 10 conversions from the earlier 787-9 model, due for first flight later this year.

The third variant of the Dreamliner family will have a range of 7,000 nautical miles, with seating for up to 330 passengers.

United said it expected to receive its first 787-10 in 2018.

The plane will be 25 percent more efficient to operate than current comparable planes, Boeing Commercial Airplanes Chief Executive Ray Conner said.

The 787-8, introduced in late 2011, was grounded worldwide in January after its lithium-ion batteries overheated on two jets in about a week.

It resumed commercial service in May after Boeing installed a redesigned battery system on the 50 jets in service. (Reporting by Alwyn Scott and Tim Hepher; Editing by James Regan)