Sales Also Up Over Same Time In 2007

A record order book only really matters when the customers take delivery... whether you're talking about widgets, or airliners. Boeing noted this week it delivered 8.5 percent more of the latter in the first quarter of 2008 than in the year prior.

According to data released by the planemaker Thursday, Boeing delivered 115 commercial aircraft in the first three months of 2008, nine more aircraft than Boeing managed in the same time period in 2007. The vast majority of those planes delivered were 737 narrowbody jets, with 87 aircraft sent out the door.

Boeing also delivered four 747s, three widebody 767s, and 21 777s.

Both the American planemaker and its European sales rival, Airbus, are working to ramp up production in the years ahead, to make inroads into record sales tallies for both companies. In the past three years, the two planemakers have combined to sell a staggering 6,400 planes.

Airbus has not yet released delivery data for the quarter, though by the end of February it had delivered 75 commercial aircraft. Airbus traditionally delivers more aircraft than Boeing.

Incidently, Boeing has also taken more orders over the first three months of 2008 than it did in the same period in 2007... which went on to be a record sales year for the planemaker, and the industry. So far, Boeing has taken 288 orders in 2008, reports Reuters, compared with 189 at the same time last year.

Airbus has recorded 341 net orders... leading some to wonder when the expected levelling-off of the record orders seen over the past three years is actually going to happen.

FMI: www.boeing.com