Airbus delivers more planes in crunch time

TOULOUSE: Airbus held on to the top spot in global jetliner production for the sixth year running in 2008 with a 7% rise in deliveries to a record 483 planes, the European planemaker said on Thursday.

In a widely-expected shift, Airbus also confirmed it had outsold Boeing in 2008 with net orders for 777 planes, down 42% from the previous year, though figures from both planemakers show the economy halting a 3-year aviation boom.

Airbus sold planes worth $100 billion in 2008, giving it a market share of 54% and lifting its backlog to 3,715 jets expected to cool after it smashed an industry record in 2007.

Unadjusted Airbus orders before cancellations or conversions between its various models reached 900 planes in 2008.

Asked if Airbus was profitable last year, Chief Executive Tom Enders said: ���I would say so, yes.��� The company is due to give full results data in March. Boeing���s 2008 production was hit by a 58-day machinists��� strike with deliveries falling 15% to 375 planes. Boeing sold 662 aircraft, down 53%, it said last week.

The latest figures mean global large jetliner production controlled by the two companies fell 4% to 858 planes last year. But analysts say steeper falls may be necessary as airlines cancel or defer orders to cope with the financial rout.

Enders predicted Airbus would sell fewer planes than it delivers in 2009 ��� the first time either big jetmaker has failed to replenish its backlog since 2003.

The CEO told reporters he expected the level of deliveries to be in the ���same ballpark��� as the 2008 record, but said Airbus had drawn up contingency plans to cut output if necessary.