Insurers for Air France have said they are close to a settlement with relatives of those people killed in last year's Concorde crash.
The payout could top a record £100m.
A spokesman for the lead underwriter on the risk, pooling agent Le Réunion Aérienne, confirmed an offer had been made to lawyers acting for the relatives.
“The ball is now in the court of the plaintiff's lawyers,” he said. He said a deadline for acceptance of the offer had not been set but added: “Everything for now is going the right way.”
The spokesman refused to comment on reports that the compensation would be £100m or more. “We can't give away any figure,” he said.
He also declined to discuss the speed of the settlement, which reports have suggested is due to the threat of litigation in the US courts.
Martin Gulduer, son of victim William Gulduer, has already filed a $75,000 (£52,000) suit in a Miami federal court against Air France and Continental Airlines.
Last July's crash, which killed 109 people onboard and four on the ground, was thought to have been caused by fragments from a burst tyre rupturing the plane's fuel tank. The tyre was reportedly burst by a strip of metal that had fallen off a Continental plane.
Test flights have begun on Air France's Concordes, which have been fitted with a new type of tyre.
The lead insurer, Le Réunion Aérienne, is a consortium of CGU France, Groupama, Generali France and Mutuelle du Mans and bears 50% of the risk for Air France's fleet.
The rest of the cover is provided by AGF Allianz with 30% and Axa with 20% of the risk.
