Airbus trails Boeing with half as many orders in 2007

Published 9:00 pm Tuesday, May 8, 2007

As of the end of April, Boeing’s lead over rival Airbus for commercial aircraft orders this year has doubled.

Boeing lists 325 jet orders through April 30 while Airbus posts 158. The Toulouse, France-based planemaker updated its orders and deliveries tally on its Web site Wednesday.

The European company still leads in terms of single-aisle jet orders with 140 requests for its A320 family jets compared to 110 orders for Boeing’s 737 family.

Airbus has fallen significantly behind Boeing in orders for its widebody aircraft this year, winning only 18 requests for its twin-aisle jets through the end of April. Boeing, on the other hand, had 215 requests for its Everett-built widebody jets.

Boeing has ramped up its orders over the past two months. At the end of February, Boeing had 64 aircraft orders while Airbus had 97.

Boeing remains second behind Airbus in deliveries this year with 141 jets delivered to customers compared to Airbus’s 153.