Airbus announced 138 new passenger-jet orders and commitments at Le Bourget on Thursday, taking to 261 the total number of jets it has sold so far at the Paris Air Show -- as Boeing called it a day with 146.
A surprise 100-plane order from a brand-new Indian airline, IndiGo, accounted for most of the gap between the trans-Atlantic rivals after a fourth day of dealmaking at the world's biggest aerospace industry gathering.
Boeing is unlikely to announce any further business at the show, the company said, but Airbus hinted that more orders were to be unveiled yesterday.
"The week isn't finished yet," spokeswoman Barbara Kracht said.
Some analysts had predicted that US-based Boeing could this year regain the lead in orders it lost four years ago, but the late surge by Airbus makes that prospect less likely.
By the start of June, Boeing had chalked up 255 firm orders to Airbus' 196.
Airbus could now overtake its Chicago-based rival in coming months as nonbinding commitments announced this week are completed as firm orders.
Neither Boeing Co nor Airbus supplied figures for the value of business they did at Le Bourget. But estimates based on their catalog prices suggest Airbus sold about US$29 billion (euro24 billion) worth of planes -- almost double the US$15 billion sold by Boeing.
The IndiGo deal alone was worth some US$6 billion at list price, Airbus said, as it announced that New Delhi-based travel company InterGlobe Enterprises Ltd and Indian businessman Rakesh Gangwal were teaming up to launch the new low-cost domestic carrier.
Gangwal has previously worked as a senior executive for United Airlines, Air France and US Airways.
"IndiGo is the result of extensive analysis and planning by very experienced airline executives and we're convinced it will be a successful new player," Airbus CEO Noel Forgeard said.
But some industry watchers were skeptical.
Richard Aboulafia of US aerospace consultancy Teal Group said commitments from ambitious startups like IndiGo and Kingfisher Airlines -- another Indian no-frills carrier which became the 16th customer for the 555-seater Airbus A380 "superjumbo" -- were less likely to lead to final deliveries than those from established carriers.
"It's very unlikely those five A380s will ever see the light of day," said Aboulafia -- although he said that Airbus scored hits with blue-chip orders for its A350, the planned rival to Boeing's 787 Dreamliner, from aircraft leasing company GECAS and Qatar Airways.
GECAS has yet to order the Dreamliner even though it is scheduled to enter service two years before the A350.
Nevertheless, Aboulafia said, "Boeing's still ahead on quality and behind on numbers. The real issue is that Airbus remains in the lead on deliveries. That's the one for Boeing to watch."
Boeing spokesman Todd Blecher insisted the company was "not at all" disappointed with its Le Bourget showing and said it was too early to rule out taking more orders than Airbus this year.
"We had a good week," Blecher said.
"We'll get back to regular business tomorrow. We have a lot of things being discussed around the world and we'll see which ones come through by the end of the year," he said.
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