Boeing Winning Jet Order Race

Boeing Co. is about to win back some bragging rights.

In what's been a record year for commercial aircraft sales, Boeing is expected to edge out Airbus in jetliner orders for the first time since 2000.

Boeing's orders are likely to surpass 850 airplanes -- more than triple last year's count. Demand was so strong in 2005 that airlines were ordering Boeing aircraft even while a strike by machinists was shutting down its large Seattle-area assembly lines for a month.

"It's been a gangbusters year for Boeing," said Scott Hamilton, an aviation consultant and analyst with Leeham Co. of Sammamish, Wash.

For its part, Airbus also expects to close out a record sales year. With only a few days left, the Toulouse, France-based company insists that it could still come out on top.

"The year ain't over yet," said Mary Anne Greczyn, a spokeswoman for Airbus.

Being the top plane maker is more than just a public relations tool.

Boeing and Airbus are the world's only manufacturers of large passenger jets. Chicago-based Boeing dominated the industry for decades until Airbus surpassed it a few years ago, and it was one of the few bright spots in a country where the manufacturing base had been shrinking. But inside the industry, there was concern that Boeing was relying on an outdated lineup of aircraft and would continue losing ground to Airbus.

Things have changed.

Through November, Boeing had received orders for 827 planes this year, compared with 687 for Airbus. But Airbus won the delivery derby, handing over 337 planes to customers versus Boeing's 268.

Industry experts consider orders to be a key indicator of future performance. Airbus, for instance, booked more orders than Boeing in 2001 but didn't begin delivering more planes than Boeing until two years later.

Because of the breakneck pace of orders in 2005, analysts forecast that Boeing will surpass Airbus in deliveries by 2007. Either way, the record sales and prospects for a prolonged uptick in commercial aircraft sales have helped hundreds of suppliers in Southern California that make parts for the two aircraft giants.

Certainly, Boeing is ending the year on a roll. It hit a jackpot this month when Australia's Qantas Airways picked it over Airbus in a $10-billion deal for new planes. It was a hotly contested contract and both Boeing and Airbus put up competing billboards along highways leading to an airport in Sydney to publicize their campaign.