LE BOURGET, France — Europe’s Airbus glided past Boeing to take top honors in their annual competition to sell commercial jets at the Paris Air Show. The U.S. plane maker, however, inked more deals for big-ticket wide-body planes.
As the final tally came down Thursday, the rivals together booked more than $107 billion in orders and commitments in the biennial gathering’s first four days, when airline executives clink champagne glasses and write huge checks and pilots test high-tech jets overhead.
Airbus racked up $57 billion of business for 421 aircraft. The announcement of a provisional deal by European low-cost carrier Wizz Air for 110 A321neos — worth more than $12.5 billion at list prices — put the Toulouse, France-based plane maker over the top against Boeing in financial terms. It was the show’s single biggest order.
Chicago-based Boeing tallied orders and commitments for 331 planes worth $50.2 billion. Its biggest deal was with Dutch leasing company AerCap for 100 737MAX-8 planes, worth up to $10.7 billion at list prices.
Boeing spokesman Daniel Mosely insisted the total numbers don’t tell the whole story. He said that not counting provisional deals, Boeing did better — firm orders for 145 aircraft, valued at $18.6 billion, compared with 124 planes worth $16.3 billion for Airbus.
