SPOKANE — A Kaiser Aluminum plant that once seemed on the verge of closing got a major lease on life when airplane maker Airbus reached an agreement to remain a customer through 2011, Kaiser said yesterday.

France-based aircraft manufacturer Airbus will continue to buy Kaiser aluminum sheet and plate, used to make the bodies of jetliners, for at least the next six years, Kaiser said.

"Kaiser has been a supplier primarily of lightweight sheet to Airbus for many years," said Jack Hockema, president and chief executive officer of Kaiser Aluminum. "However, the new agreement represents an important piece of committed business for Kaiser."

Kaiser's Trentwood plant employs about 500 people and still is one of the largest manufacturers in Spokane. The plant also makes aluminum for Boeing, Airbus' major competitor in the jetliner business.

The Trentwood plant also has found a good market for its aluminum sheets in making armor kits for military vehicles such as Humvees in Iraq, spokesman Scott Lamb said.

Houston-based Kaiser filed for Chapter 11 protection three years ago and has been attempting to reorganize and emerge from bankruptcy protection. The company recently dumped its pension obligations on the federal government.

Kaiser declined for competitive reasons to release specifics of its Airbus deal.

Lamb said the deal includes an incremental increase in the amount of aluminum the plane maker will buy, with the most important aspect being the extension of the contract.

The company hopes to emerge from Chapter 11 by the end of this year, Lamb said.

Kaiser once employed about 1,000 people at Trentwood and 1,000 at an aluminum smelter in suburban Spokane. The smelter has been closed and sold because of high electricity prices and low demand for aluminum.

"This kind of contract is very meaningful for that factory," Lamb said.

With the airplane business in something of a rebound, the immediate future is bright at Kaiser.

The decision is "a tremendous vote of confidence in the performance of the Trentwood, Wash., mill where these products are produced by an exceptionally skilled and dedicated work force," Hockema said.

Airbus is headquartered in Toulouse, France, and is jointly owned by the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. and BAE Systems.