Airbus builds on air show orders
Published 9:00 pm Tuesday, August 8, 2006
PARIS – Airbus said Tuesday that it has made 253 deliveries so far this year and had taken 200 orders, boosted by strong interest at the Farnborough air show.
The figures mean that although the troubled European planemaker is on track to deliver more planes in 2006 than rival Boeing Co., Airbus is still expected to see its full-year orders lag behind Boeing’s for the first time in six years.
Airbus has targeted 430 plane deliveries over the year, up from 378 in 2005.
Airbus said Tuesday it delivered 34 airplanes in July and took orders for 83 aircraft. Most of those deals came at Farnborough, where total Airbus orders or commitments reached 182 aircraft valued at $21.5 billion. Boeing booked 75 orders and commitments, worth an estimated $9.65 billion.
Airbus has sold more planes than Boeing for the past five years and delivered more aircraft for the past three. Boeing, however, has already secured more than 500 orders this year, thanks to strong sales of its wide-bodied mid-range 787 and long-range 777.
The latest figures were a small bit of good news for Airbus. Delays in the long-awaited superjumbo A380 sent stock in parent company European Aeronautic Defence &Space Co. tumbling more than 25 percent in June. They also led to a major management reshuffle at the Franco-German company, and customer and investor confidence remains rattled.
