Co sold four planes in Sept to take year's tally to 226

PARIS: Airbus sold four aircraft in September, bringing its total of new orders so far this year to 226, the planemaker said on Monday. The orders are lower than for any month in ’06 or ’05 and highlight a gap with Boeing, which has overtaken its European rival in net new orders this year with 723 planes added to its backlog by October 3.

The four Airbus aircraft sold were all members of the A320 family of single-aisle jets and were ordered by unidentified private customers, Airbus said in a monthly order breakdown.

Wide-body sales have slowed as Airbus wrestles with delays on the 555-seat A380 and a possible costly redesign of its A350, an aircraft it says is essential to compete in the lucrative 250-350-seat segment against Boeing’s hot-selling 787.

Wide-body sales make up 16% of the total orders so far in ’06. Airbus dominates the market for narrow-body jets. Airbus delivered a total of 320 aircraft between January and September.