European Aircraft Industries: Japan Airlines CFO: Airbus was just 'better' - by Katie Hollid

Airbus A-350

After French aviation manufacturer Airbus won a tense battle against Boeing for the business of Japan's second largest airline last year, the firm's chief financial officer told CNBC Airbus was just "better."

Japan Airlines announced its first jet order for the French aircraft manufacturer in October for 31 A350 aircraft worth $9.5 billion, breaking into an aviation market which had been dominated by rival Boeing.

"We needed a successor to our largest aircraft, the 777. When we compared what both Boeing and Airbus had to offer, Airbus was better," managing executive officer of finance & accounting Norikazu Saito told CNBC. "It may have been a disappointment to Boeing, but they of course understand that business is business."

Saito told CNBC that the biggest payoff from working with Airbus would be increased economic efficiency, although there would be some complications with owning two different brands of aircraft.

"Pilots need to have different licenses; you need to have spare parts for both manufacturers. But even taking all those things into account, Airbus was the better choice," he said.

JAL faced some negative publicity earlier in the year when it temporarily grounded one of its Boeing 787 Dreamliners at Tokyo's Narita International Airport in mid-January, after white smoke was spotted outside the plane and a battery cell showed clear signs of leaking.

Read more: Japan Airlines CFO: Airbus was just 'better'