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The chairman of Boeing vowed in an interview with the Financial Times on Monday to take unspecified action on European government support for rival Airbus, but said it was in no one's interest to start a trade war.

«Trade wars, as they go on and on and on, are not in anybody's interest,» Harry Stonecipher told the newspaper, denying that he wanted to take a case to the World Trade Organization (WTO).

«Probably Airbus's biggest market is the US market, so I don't think they want a trade case and neither do we.»

Still, Stonecipher, said he would act «this year» to put a stop to alleged Airbus «subsidies».

European governments are financing nearly a third of the cost of the Toulouse, France-based plane maker's new A380 superjumbo jet.

Airbus says the financing is in the form of repayable, market-rate loans which conform with the terms of a 1992 trade agreement between the United States and Europe.

Airbus has also argued that Boeing receives indirect subsidies for its commercial aerospace business through Pentagon research and development funds intended for its military programs.

Stonecipher said in the interview that he was willing to put «everything right on the table» and suggested Airbus should do the same.

Currently, neither Airbus nor the European governments that provide it with loans reveal the terms of those loans.

«We report on all our military development stuff that comes in and we report on it quarterly, officially,» Stonecipher said. «Anytime anyone wants to lay all the paper on the table and have the examination, that's fine.»