Airbus just beats Boeing with 1,055 plane orders

I personally have no favorite manufacturer but am
content there are at least two major manufacturers
about neck to neck. This will avoid a monopoly situation.

I do have a favorite plane configuration. Since we travel as
a couple I prefer two seat combinations next to the window
not three seats. Tourist seating is always cramped, not
enough elbow space so sitting next to somebody you don't
know is a hassle.

Does anybody have strong feelings on a particular plane?
Knowing why might be important some of the rest of us.

******


Airbus beats Boeing with 1,055 plane orders
Tue Jan 17, 2006 4:42 AM ET


PARIS (Reuters) - Airbus outsold Boeing Co. in 2005 with 1,055 net orders,
it said on Tuesday, capping a record year for both marked by fierce price
competition and strong demand from Asian and budget airlines.

Airbus almost tripled the 366 net orders it had captured in 2004 and beat
Boeing's tally of 1,002, despite many analysts' expectations that the
European planemaker risked losing its lead for the first time since 2000.

Airbus had 678 orders at the end of November, trailing Boeing at 827.

At an annual news conference, Airbus said it also led Boeing in deliveries
for a third consecutive year, with 378 planes leaving its assembly lines
compared with 320 in 2004. Boeing had 290 deliveries after a strike trimmed
higher expectations.

Deliveries make up the bulk of Airbus revenues, which rose 10 percent to
22.3 billion euros ($27.1 billion), up from 20.2 billion in 2004. Airbus is
80-percent owned by aerospace group EADS with the rest owned by BAE Systems.

The Airbus order backlog rose to 2,177 aircraft worth $220.3 billion from
1,500 at the end of 2004.

Airbus Chief Executive Gustav Humbert told reporters the return on sales
came in at a "ballpark" level of 10 percent, compared with 9 percent in
2004.

"We saw very aggressive pricing from Boeing in 2005 but you can see we could
match it and improve profitability," Humbert said. "There was a big pressure
on prices in 2005."

Airbus claimed victory over Boeing in orders, deliveries and backlog, with a
51 percent share of net orders for jets able to seat at least 100 passengers
and 55 percent of the order book.

However, Airbus figures showed that its orders were mainly driven by sales
of cheaper, single-aisle models to budget airlines, while it lost several
deals for larger jets to Boeing.

The U.S. planemaker had a record year for its twin-engined long-haul 777 and
trumped Airbus's planned mid-sized A350 with strong sales of its new 787
Dreamliner.

Airbus said it had 87 firm orders and another 85 commitments for the newly
launched A350, whereas Boeing said earlier this month it had sold 235 of the
787s last year.

The mix of larger planes in Airbus's gross orders intake fell to 17 percent
from 25 percent, Reuters calculates.

Humbert said he wanted to catch up with Boeing in long-range and wide-bodied
jets within two years: "We have to take the next two years to really come up
to the same 50-50 level of orders of long-range and wide-bodied aircraft."

He also conceded defeat to Boeing in the overall value of jets sold.

He said Airbus's gross orders of 1,111 planes (before cancellations) were
worth $95.9 billion and estimated Boeing had taken 55 percent of the total
market by value.

He said it was too early, however, to comment on speculation that Airbus
would be forced to redesign its slow-selling four-engined A340 to counter
the 777's success and that no decisions had been taken.

EADS's shares, which closed at 31.45 euros on Monday, trade at 15 times
forecast 2006 earnings. Boeing, with a bigger pot of defense income, trades
at 21 times, according to Reuters data.

Humbert reiterated a target of at least 400 deliveries in 2006 and an
increase in production of single-aisle jets from 28.5 a month now to 30 a
month in 2006 and 32 a month in 2007.

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