Airbus announces 200 orders in Dec-2010, tops Boeing in orders and deliveries race
Airbus closed 2010 with 644 gross and 574 net aircraft orders in 2010 and delivered a record 510 aircraft over the year. The company finished the year with 203 orders and 41 deliveries in Dec-2010, allowing it to pip Boeing in the annual orders race. Boeing finished the year with 530 net orders and 462 deliveries.
The majority of 2010 orders were for A320-family aircraft, although the manufacturer booked 160 twin-engine widebody orders and another A380 order from Emirates for 32 aircraft.
The 510 aircraft delivered are a record for Airbus, and a figure that it intends to better in 2011 by 10-20 aircraft, as it ups production of its A320 and A330 family, and gets the production line of the A380 family sorted.
Airbus Tianjin has set a target of 36 A320s for 2011. The majority of A380 deliveries are expected to occur in the second half of the year, as Airbus and Rolls-Royce sort out problems with the Trent 900 engine. The problems meant Airbus missed its target of 20 A380 deliveries for 2010.
Airbus has increased production output for the ninth year in a row. For 2011, Airbus expects a book-to-bill ratio above one.
Shares in EADS, the parent of Airbus, were up 0.2% yesterday. Boeing shares were flat. Shares in GKN Aerospace were up 3.6%.
Selected original equipment manufacturers' share price movements: (% change): 17-Jan-2011
