Plane Deals

The year 2006 saw Boeing take in some 25 percent more orders than its European rival Airbus, according to a report in the Financial Times Deutschland newspaper.

According to an annual report issued by Boeing, the Chicago based company had 904 orders in the year up to Dec. 20 versus 714 for Airbus, a figure including 635 new orders at the end of November plus new orders published in December. Boeing's new, more fuel-efficient 787 "Dreamliner" jet and 777 aircraft proved to be the prize attractions.

'Annus horribilis'

As opposed to Boeing's shining track record, Airbus' flagship jumbo A380 suffered from production difficulties and concerns about rising fuel costs. Airbus, which is based in Toulouse in France, has announced three delays in deliveries for the superjumbo since early 2005.

Earlier this month, Thomas Enders, head of the European space consortium that runs Airbus, acknowledged that 2006 had been an "annus horribilis," or miserable year, for the company. Airbus needed to account for billions of euros in charges due to delays in its production of ordered A380 super jumbos, Enders said, as well as a costly miscalculation in its new long-distance jet A350.

The latest blow for Airbus came on Tuesday when the Emirates airline confirmed that it was seeking financial compensation from Airbus, saying it had been "badly hurt" by the two-year delay in delivery for the superjumbo A380 plane. Emirates is the world's biggest customer for the A380, having ordered 45 of the 555-seat, double-deck aircraft in a deal worth about $13.5 billion.

Nevertheless, a spokeswoman for Airbus told news agencies last week that 2006 was "the second-best year in the history of the company" in terms of orders and deliveries, despite its having dropped in the rankings against Boeing. The company will publish detailed results Jan. 17.

The last time Boeing sold more planes than Airbus was in 2000. But even in 2005, Airbus only had a narrow lead in orders, booking 1055 compared with Boeing's 1002.

Key indicator

New orders are considered the most important early indicator for the companies. Boeing's lead is based foremost on orders for expensive and profit-making wide-body aircraft. In terms of smaller models, with only one central aisle, Airbus sold nearly as much as Boeing.

The US concern's long-haul model, the Boeing 787, turned out to be its most successful model of the year in 2006, with 147 planes sold. These are slated for delivery in 2008.