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Orders for Commercial Airliners Could Jump This Year
Orders for commercial airliners could jump sharply to top 1,000 aircraft this year, according to Airbus commercial director John Leahy.
Last year’s orders for Airbus and Boeing aircraft totaled 642, with Airbus winning 370 firm sales for a market share of 57.2%.
But that’s not necessarily a reason to rejoice — yet. “The industry has to be careful it doesn’t get carried away,” Leahy cautioned. “Every time we have massive peaks in airplane orders, they are usually followed by three years of catching your breath.”
Airbus plans to deliver 350-360 aircraft in 2005, a sharp jump from last year's production level of 320 airliners, maintaining its lead in deliveries over Boeing for a third straight year. The U.S. planemaker has projected its deliveries at 320 this year, rising to 375-385 in 2006.
“I remember Boeing saying market share in terms of orders don’t matter, but only deliveries count — that was when Boeing had 55% of deliveries,” Leahy pointed out. “They haven’t said that for three or four years because we have 55% of deliveries now.” —John Morris
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