PARIS (AP) - European aircraft maker Airbus won its first firm orders Thursday for the A350 XWB, the latest version of its planned mid-sized jet designed to rival Boeing's fuel-efficient 787.

Finnair PLC agreed to convert its nine orders for the previous version of the A350 to the new upgraded plane and order two more, the Finnish national carrier and Airbus said. The orders come as Airbus faces worker resistance to a major restructuring plan.

Airbus Chief Operating Officer John Leahy hailed what he described as "an endorsement of the new A350XWB program" from a major European carrier.

"We are particularly honored by this mark of confidence from Finnair," Leahy said in a company statement.

Officially launched in December, the 11.6 billion euros ($15.2 billion) A350XWB program promises better fuel-efficiency and greater use of composites than the earlier version of the plane, but with later availability.

Leahy, the top Airbus plane salesman, is still in negotiations with airlines over the conversion of 93 outstanding A350 orders into firm contracts for the new plane.

Finnair said it expects to take delivery of its first A350XWB in 2014, the year after the plane is scheduled to enter commercial service. The airline also announced seven new orders for a combination of Airbus A330 and A340 widebody planes to replace its existing fleet of Boeing MD-11s - with a total order value close to 2 billion euros ($2.6 billion).

The new Airbus jet is five years behind its rival, the 787 "Dreamliner," which has already notched up 464 firm orders as Boeing prepares to begin building the plane in the second quarter, with the first flight scheduled for August.

Development of the Airbus plane has been held up by a series of management and financial crises at Airbus parent European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co., including a two-year delay to the double-decker A380 superjumbo that wiped more than 5 billion euros ($6.6 billion) off profit forecasts.

Airbus is seeking to recoup those losses by cutting 10,000 jobs and spinning off or closing six of its European manufacturing plants, under the terms of the "Power8" restructuring plan it unveiled Feb. 28.

Three sites making wing and fuselage parts in Britain, France and Germany are earmarked for sale to new investment partners as Toulouse, France-based Airbus follows in its U.S. rival's footsteps by seeking risk-sharing partners to finance more of its programs.

The chief executive of France's Aviation Latecoere, a major Airbus supplier, said Thursday he was "clearly interested" in the possibility of acquiring an Airbus site.

"We are studying all opportunities with regard to Airbus' Power8 restructuring plan," Francois Bertrand told a news conference. Negotiations have yet to begin with Airbus, he said.

Airbus has said potential investment partners include Britain's GKN PLC, Italy's Finmeccanica SpA and U.S.-based Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc. - a former Boeing division that was renamed after its sale to investment firm Onex and remains a major Boeing supplier.

On Tuesday, thousands of striking Airbus workers demonstrated in Toulouse against the company's restructuring plan. More strikes and protests were called for March 16 across Europe.