Airbus misses A350 target, but wins orders race

Airbus has missed its sales target for the A350 mid-size twinjet, it has revealed, but has beaten Boeing in the 2005 order race.

The European manufacturer booked only 172 orders and commitments in 2005, 28 short of its publicly-stated target of 200. Just over one week ago EADS co-chief executive Noël Forgeard claimed the manufacturer had reached its target, a claim now attributed to mis-translation.

However, even without the A350 sales, Airbus has won the race for total civil aircraft orders for the fifth year running against rival Boeing.

Airbus recorded a net figure of 1,055 orders in 2005, beating Boeing's net order total of 1,002 by 53 aircraft . In gross terms, Boeing is still behind Airbus, with 1,029 against 1,111 aircraft.

The US manufacturer disclosed its final year end tally earlier this month and many had expected it to have beaten Airbus for the first time since 2000. At the end of November Airbus still had booked only 687 orders. However, the European manufacturer revealed in Paris today that it had closed the gap by finalising several key deals during the final month of 2005.

The final figures give Airbus a 52% market share in the large mainline airliner market, down from 57.4% last year.
However, both manufacturers can claim victory, since the combined gross order tally for the two airframers is, at 2,140, the largest in history, beating the 1989 total of 1,631.

The A320 was again the year's strongest seller, with a total of 568 orders, compared with 185 last year. Once combined with other family members the A318, A319 and A321, the total becomes 918 orders, which gives Airbus market share of 62% against the 737, of which Boeing sold 569 aircraft.

Boeing had a backlog of 1,809 at the end of 2005, which compares with 1,097 a year earlier. Airbus has an order backlog of 2,177 compared with 1,500 for 2004.

The A300 backlog has taken a knock, as United Parcel Service (UPS) cancelled 37 orders, reducing the line's outstanding production to 15 aircraft.

However, both manufacturers can claim victory, since the combined gross order tally for the two airframers is, at 2,140, the largest in history, beating the 1989 total of 1,631.

MAX KINGSLEY-JONES / PARIS &
JUSTIN WASTNAGE / LONDON

Read Kieran Daly's blog on how his prediction was proved right

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Source: Flight International