Airliner orders drop by a third

Airliner orders drop by a third

But Airbus is confident of leap in second half of 2004

Orders for Airbus and Boeing airliners were down by more than a third during the first half of 2004, to 178, compared with the 284 net sales during same period last year. But at least one of the players is confident that it will still achieve a year-end order tally on a par with its 2003 performance.

As the above table shows, Airbus leads Boeing in both output and orders during the January-June 2004 period, with its 100 net sales representing 56% of the total. Airbus orders slid by over 40% compared with last year, while Boeing sales are down a little over a quarter.

The two manufacturers secured a total of 493 net orders during the whole of 2003, split 254/239 in Airbus's favour. Despite its deficit at the half-year mark, the European manufacturer is confident that it can make up lost ground in the second half and equal last year's performance.

The A320 family made up the bulk of Airbus's orders (92), and although Boeing had a better spread the 737 was still its major seller taking 57 net orders. The A340-300 had just a single order in the first half, and its backlog has declined to a single-digit number (nine). Meanwhile, just five 757s remain to be delivered before production ends.

"We plan on being in roughly the same ballpark in terms of order intake this year, bearing in mind that the first half has been soft, as predicted," said Airbus president and chief executive Noel Forgeard in Toulouse last month.

Boeing has not yet converted any 7E7 commitments into firm orders, but it is expected to finalise contracts during the second half of the year.

With deliveries up 6% and sales down during the first half, the total order backlog has declined by 5%. Airbus continues to hold the lead with 57% market share.

MAX KINGSLEY-JONES / LONDON

Source: Flight International