Airbus orders grounded, put profits take off

Airbus Group says airplane orders slumped in the first quarter, but profits rose and it hopes to put its A350 long-range jet into service by the end of the year.

Boeing’s chief rival said in a statement today that it took in 103 orders in the quarter for a total of €21.1bn. That is down from 410 orders in the first quarter of 2013.