Paris
16 June 2009
Airbus announced Tuesday it had secured orders for 16 new A321 planes from Vietnam Airlines and another five A320 craft from budget Cebu Pacific airlines of the Philippines. The day before, Airbus said that Qatar Airways had also ordered A320 aircraft.
Rain falls at the Paris Air Show at the Bourget airport, north of Paris, 15 June 2009 |
Condom told French radio that the mantra of this year's Paris show would likely be to maintain existing orders rather than to secure new ones.
But Airbus has already exceeded those expectations, leaving America's Boeing racing to catch up. The rivalry between the two aeronautics giants also took a new turn on Tuesday when Boeing accused Airbus of violating world trade regulations by seeking European government financing for its new A350 planes.
Boeing and Airbus have traded accusations over the years that each is seeking unfair government subsidies.
Still one Boeing executive, Randy Tinseth, sought to put a positive spin on the industry's future during an interview with France 24 news channel.
Artist's conception of the Boeing 747-8 passenger jet to be delivered to airlines in 2009 |
So far this year, Boeing - has taken orders for 73 planes, but with cancellations of 66, the net order intake is only seven jets.
Airbus's order tally advanced to 56 on Monday after the Qatar Airways order. After cancellations, net orders to date total 35. Both plane makers are cushioned by order backlogs of around 3,500 planes.
The Paris Air Show ends Sunday - which still gives Boeing time to catch up to rival Airbus in securing new aircraft orders.