Airbus sales eclipsed by Boeing in 2006.

Hi

Well its just been made official that American plane maker Boeing received more orders for aircraft than it’s European rival Airbus in the last year 2006. It’s the first since 2000 since this last happened.

Boeing orders Totalled = 1,050
Airbus Orders Totalled = 824

Well done Boeing for turning this around after 5 years off been behind.

Sorce BBC news website. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6269847.stm

Airbus sales eclipsed by Boeing

Airbus investors have become accustomed to bad news
Airbus secured fewer orders for new planes last year than its rival Boeing for the first time since 2000.
The troubled plane maker said it won 824 new orders last year, compared to Boeing’s total of 1,050.

Delays to its flagship A380 plane, which have put the project two years behind schedule, are set to push Airbus to an annual loss for 2006.

The boss of EADS, Airbus’ parent firm, said the delays were a “major shock and disappointment” to shareholders.

Extra charges

Delays to the A380 have already cost the firm more than $6bn (£3.3bn) and Airbus said there could additional charges to come.

Despite being overtaken in terms of orders, Airbus delivered more aircraft than Boeing last year.

It delivered 434 planes to customers, 36 more than its rival.

But EADS shares fell 3% in early trading in response to the news of the latest orders.

Several leading airlines have warned that they might cancel orders for the giant A380 plane as a result of production delays.

EADS said “additional A380 charges not originally envisaged” were one factor likely to push Airbus into the red for the past financial year.

In addition, it said costs relating to settlements with customers and the reduced value of certain assets were likely to be included on its balance sheet in 2006 rather than next year.

Its financial results will not be confirmed until March, although an annual loss is expected.