Boeing is expected to steal the show at the Paris Air Show next week in the backyard of its European rival Airbus, when a huge order of its new 787 Dreamliner jets is announced at the largest aviation gathering of the year.

The world's largest airplane manufacturer is working to finalize this weekend an order for about 50 Boeing 787s, worth at least 5 billion dollars even with discounts, the Seattle Times daily reported Wednesday.

The deal will ensure that International Lease Finance Corp. ( ILFC), the biggest airplane leasing company in the world based in Los Angeles, owns more Dreamliners than any other customer.

ILFC founder and CEO Stephen Udvar-Hazy is likely to announce the order Tuesday in Paris, the report said.

The biggest previous 787 order from a single buyer was All Nippon Airways' 50-plane launch order in 2004, while Chinese airlines have ordered a total of 57 787s in a group buy, according to the newspaper.

Although Boeing executives cautioned that the new ILFC deal is not yet sealed and could be delayed beyond the Paris Air Show, Hazy's comments in an interview at a conference of the world's top airline executives in Vancouver last week suggest strongly that he wants to announce in Paris.

Hazy's company placed an initial order for 20 Dreamliners in fall 2005, giving the new airplane an important endorsement. He added two more 787s at the Farnborough Air Show in London last year.

Airlines across the globe lease jets from ILFC, which has ordered more than 700 Boeing and 600 Airbus jets since its establishment in 1977.

Hazy has said Airbus executives' intense focus on fixing production problems with the A380 superjumbo jet has diverted management and engineering resources and "hurt the A350 program."

The big, unexpected ILFC order would extend the Boeing 787's strong momentum and set up the rollout of the first Dreamliner in its Seattle factory next month, while Airbus could leave Paris still short of a convincing demonstration that its airplane is a solid competitor.