Airbus grabs first big order of 2008

Published 7:46 am Wednesday, January 9, 2008

The first major commercial jet order of the year goes to Airbus.

Dublin-based leasing company AWAS has placed an order for 75 A320s, Airbus announced Wednesday. The order is worth more than $5 billion at list prices, though jetmakers like Airbus and the Boeing Co. tend to discount heavily.

AWAS also placed a significant order late last year with Boeing for 31 737s.

Industry observers anxiously await an update on Airbus’s final sales for 2007. Boeing already reported it won 1,413 net orderslast year.

Both the stock of Boeing and Airbus’s parent company EADS continue to fall in 2008 as analysts expect a slowdown in orders. Boeing’s stock fell below $80 yesterday for the first time in a year. Shares of the Chicago-based aerospace company traded as low as $78.69 this morning, a drop of nearly $30 since last July.

EADS’s stock has done much better, despite a report that Airbus may deliver its second A380 superjumbo jet to Singapore Airlines this week.