Thursday, January 15, 2009

Airbus takes top planemaking spot


European planemaker Airbus took top spot in global jet plane deliveries and orders during 2008.

Airbus saw a 7% rise in deliveries to a record 483 planes. US rival Boeing - hit by a machinists' strike - saw its deliveries fall by 15% to 375 planes.

It also outsold Boeing, with orders for 777 jets, down 42% from the previous year. Last week, Boeing said it sold 662 aircraft in 2008, down 53% on 2007.

Airbus is restructuring to cope with currency volatility and other issues.

It said its Power8 cost-cutting programme had saved 1.3bn euros ($1.7bn; £1.2bn).

'Challenging 2009'

The pan-European firm sold planes worth $100bn (£68bn) in 2008, giving it a market share of 54%.

And it said it had a backlog of 3,715 jets, which it is estimated it would take six years to clear, although this could be reduced to four years with cancellations.

Last year, Airbus sold a net total of 472 single-aisle aircraft and 310 wide-body models, including nine A380 superjumbos.

Boeing's 2008 production was hit by a 58-day machinists' strike.

Meanwhile, Airbus has cut its A380 delivery forecast for 2009 to 18 planes. In 2008 it delivered 12 of the aircraft.

"We all know that 2009 will be a very challenging year for the aeronautics industry," said Airbus chief Tom Enders.

"At Airbus we are well prepared and confident."

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