Airbus takes the lead in orders again

Airbus won net orders for 366 planes in 2004 compared with 272 orders at Boeing, Airbus Chief Executive Officer Noel Forgeard said at a Paris press conference yesterday.

The European jet maker also confirmed it delivered 320 aircraft in 2004, up from 305 planes in 2003 and exceeding the 285 deliveries last year by Boeing.

The big Airbus order lead over Boeing came largely from Airbus' success in selling narrow-body jets to discount carriers, where it won 64 percent of the market. In the wide-body jet segment, Boeing won 117 orders to Airbus' 91, taking 56 percent of the market.

Randy Baseler, head of marketing for Boeing's commercial-aircraft division, said he expected the narrow-body market to settle down eventually into a 50-50 share between the two rivals.

However, Baseler said Airbus could be No. 1 for some time. "We're pretty likely to see Airbus hold its delivery share higher than ours over the next few years," Baseler said.

Separately yesterday, Boeing won an order for six 737 planes worth $330 million at list prices from Bavaria International Aircraft Leasing. The order was previously disclosed on the company's Web site as an unidentified customer, Boeing said.

Information from Seattle Times aerospace reporter Dominic Gates is included in this report.