Airbus beat Boeing on commercial orders

Airbus beat Boeing in latest round of commercial orders

July 08, 2008: Airbus, the world's largest maker of commercial aircraft, said it won a net 487 orders in the first six months, 12 more than Boeing. Airbus also delivered 245 planes, the Toulouse, France-based company said Tuesday in an e-mailed statement, four more than its U.S. rival. The European planemaker predicts orders this year may drop 50 percent compared with 2007, when it and Boeing took a record 2,754 combined. Demand is dwindling as slowing economies and spiraling fuel prices push airlines toward losses that the International Air Transport Association says may reach $6.1 billion with crude at $135 a barrel. Airbus attracted 525 new orders and lost 38 contracts that had booked previously through cancellations. That left it with a total of 323 orders for single-aisle planes, 161 for widebody A330, A340 and A350 models, and three for the double-decker A380s. The company, a division of European Aeronautic, Defense and Space, delivered 201 single-aisle planes, 40 widebodies and four A380s. Boeing, based in Chicago, won 475 net orders in the first half and delivered 241 aircraft. Boeing has said shipments may reach 480 planes this year from 441 last year, while Airbus has been forecasting it will deliver around 470, up from 434. Both planemakers are likely to announce orders from several customers at the Farnborough International Air Show that begins July 14 in Britain.