Business Booming For Boeing

A Reuters report from Paris says Airbus has sold only 222 planes this year compared to Boeing's 548. August total orders are 22 for Airbus vs 30 for Boeing.

Boeing's good fortune rides on the wings of its new 787 Dreamliner, for which it has 377 orders, while Airbus struggles with leadership problems and delays/cost overruns on the A380, their newest model.

While Boeing boasts more new orders so far this year, Airbus deliveries still outpace Boeing's 283 to 258 -- on stronger sales in recent years when the rival company's positions were reversed.

As yet, there appears no end in sight for Airbus' woes. As ANN reported last week, UK defense firm BAE is selling its 20 percent stake in Airbus, and began purchasing defense firms in North America with the proceeds. BAE explained the decision to sell by citing an audit which revealed a "challenging short- to medium-term outlook" for Airbus.

Airbus may get some help from Singapore Airlines which has entered a tentative agreement to purchase 20 A350 XWB aircraft, a model intended to directly compete with Boeing's 787. Singapore Airlines sweetened the deal further adding 9 A380 superjumbos at Farnborough.

FMI: www.airbus.com, www.boeing.com