Boeing quarterly orders, deliveries up
April 3rd, 2008 | by admin |(Adds Boeing, Airbus data; background)
NEW YORK, April 3 (Reuters) - Boeing Co (BA.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said onThursday that first-quarter commercial plane deliveries rose8.5 percent as it ramps up production on the back of recordorders in recent years.
The Chicago-based company, which vies with Europe’s Airbusfor dominance in the jetliner market, delivered 115 commercialplanes in the first three months of this year, up from 106 ayear earlier.
Boeing flew 87 of its top-selling 737 single-aisle planesto customers around the world, along with four 747 jumbos,three mid-sized 767s and 21 of its larger 777 minijumbos.
Airbus, a unit of aerospace group EADS (EAD.PA: Quote, Profile, Research), has notyet released data for the quarter. By the end of February, ithad delivered 75 commercial planes.
Financial analysts watch deliveries closely because that iswhen manufacturers receive the bulk of payment for a plane.
Both Boeing and Airbus are looking to ramp up deliveriesthis year as they work their way through a record number oforders on their books.
Between them, Boeing and Airbus have sold 6,400 planes overthe past three years, equal to results for the previous eightyears, as demand for air travel rebounded from the declineprompted by the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Last year, Boeing took net orders for 1,413 planes worthabout $170 billion at list prices, breaking its own annualorder record for the third consecutive year and setting arecord for the industry.
Despite warnings that the aerospace bubble is set to burst,Boeing has taken 288 orders so far this year, compared with 189at the same time last year. Airbus had 341 net orders at theend of February. (Reporting by Bill Rigby; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick andLisa Von Ahn)
