But It's Deliveries That Count... And Boeing Leads There, As Well

We doubt anyone at Boeing is breathing any easier... though we wouldn't be surprised if a few champagne corks are popping in Chicago and Seattle over the news Boeing has regained a substantial order lead over European rival Airbus, according to both planemakers' year-to-date figures.

The Seattle Times reports Airbus listed 713 gross new orders for the year through the end of August, with a net total -- taking cancellations into account -- of 656 jets. Over the same period, Boeing listed 773 gross orders, 763 net.

By comparison, at the end of July -- after an extremely strong showing by Airbus at the Paris Air Show -- both planemakers' sales figures were almost identical, with Boeing holding a slim 10-plane lead with 698 gross orders. (At one point, Airbus claimed a 131-plane lead... which goes to show airliner math is constantly evolving, and harder to pin down than Advanced Algebra -- Ed.)

But that's not all. Since the end of August, Boeing has added another 78 net orders to its online order tally, for 841. Airbus has added some new deals as well, including a 25-plane order from Aviation Capital Group... but nowhere near the figures Boeing has put up.

And that's not all, either. Boeing is able to claim a significant lead in the number of orders for widebody airliners, which typically carry selling prices over three times those of smaller, single-aisle planes. Through August, Boeing claimed gross orders for 387 single-aisle planes -- all 737s -- and 386 widebodies. By comparison, Airbus sold 415 A320-family narrowbodies, and 298 twin-aisle planes.

And -- at the danger of repeating ourselves -- that's not all, either. A figure far more meaningful to Boeing's bottom line is the number of planes it has delivered so far for 2007 -- and for the first time since 2002, it appears Boeing may beat Airbus there, as well, if only barely.

Through the end of August, Boeing delivered 295 airliners... one more than Airbus. The majority of both manufacturers' deliveries were for comparatively low-profit narrowbodies... but Boeing, capitalizing on the success of its 777 line, was able to deliver 71 widebodies, versus 57 for Airbus.

"Boeing has already re-established its position as the leader in commercial aerospace," SG Securities analyst Zafar Kahn told Bloomberg. "Boeing always said, 'It's not the units, it's the value,' and on that basis, Boeing outscores Airbus because they're delivering more in the way of widebodies than Airbus."

Time will tell whether Boeing will be able to maintain its leads in both orders and deliveries over its European rival, especially given the manufacturer's recent announcement of delays with its 787 Dreamliner program.

We wouldn't bet against it, though.

FMI: www.boeing.com