Airbus claims lead over Boeing despite lost orders

Airbus is claiming the lead over Boeing despite seeing more than 100 orders cancelled by airline customers facing bankruptcy.

The consortium describes its figures for 2001 as "healthy" after delivering a record 325 aircraft worth £14.3bn.

But the 375 new firm orders logged during the year were reduced to 274 - worth £25.9bn - because of the cancellations.

Airbus did not reveal which of its customers had been affected, although Swissair and Belgium-based Sabena are among airlines to have hit hard times in recent months.

But Airbus says its order intake is still ahead of Boeing with a market share of 50.2%.

Firm orders booked in 2001 included 175 A320 Family aircraft and 85 A380s, the consortium's new 555-seater superjumbo.

However, the order intake is still some way short of the 520 aircraft recorded in 2000 as the economic downturn hits the airline industry.

The crisis, accelerated by a drop-off in demand after September 11 terrorist attacks, has prompted Airbus to cut hundreds of jobs.