Airbus outpaces Boeing at Farnborough

Airbus and rival Boeing Co. spent the week adding to their backlogs at the Farnborough International Airshow, combining for more than $60 billion in orders and commitments at list prices during the trade portion of aviation’s biggest event of the year.



But it was Airbus that took home final bragging rights from the biennial Farnborough show.

The European manufacturer said in a press release that it will leave Farnborough with deals for 279 aircraft at a list value of $35 billion.

Of those, 197 are firm orders valued at $26.3 billion before the steep discounts airline customers are typically offered by both companies.

The show for Airbus was highlighted by a firm order from AirAsia for 100 narrow-body A321neo aircraft.

Boeing (NYSE: BA), which is celebrating the company’s centennial during Farnborough week, said in its own recap that it secured orders and commitments for 182 commercial aircraft at a list value of $26.8 billion.

Though the show’s order totals were down from previous years as analysts expected — the two companies combined for $115 billion in orders and commitments at Farnborough in 2014 — the week’s results allowed Airbus to overtake Boeing on the order total for the year.

Airbus will exit the show ahead on firm orders 380 to 321 for 2016.

Both companies' orders will continue to drive work in Wichita’s commercial aviation cluster, including the city’s largest employer, Spirit AeroSystems Inc. (NYSE: SPR), which has work on all Boeing commercial programs and on multiple Airbus programs as well.

The week’s orders also help keep Airbus ahead on total backlog, though each company has nearly a decade of work on their books already.

And speaking to those backlogs, Boeing’s senior vice president of global sales and marketing for its commercial aircraft, John Wojick, took the opportunity of the Farnborough stage earlier in the week to talk up where he sees his company as having an advantage, particularly among each companies’ new narrow-body offerings.

(culled from www.bizjournals.com)