Airbus Orders Trail Boeing’s

Airbus said Monday it won 117 plane orders in the first half of the year, less than a quarter of the orders announced to date by U.S. rival Boeing Co.

Orders fell from 276 in the same period last year, a sharper drop than the broad full-year decline predicted by both jet makers after record sales in 2005. Boeing’s orders rose to 480 as of July 5, after 439 in the first half of 2005.

Airbus turned out more jets than Boeing in the first half -- as it has each year since 2003 -- delivering 219 planes, up from 189 in the year-earlier period. Boeing delivered 195 planes, up from 155.

But the latest orders suggest Airbus may lose its lead in coming years. The Toulouse, France-based jet maker is struggling with production delays to its A380 super-jumbo, and weak sales of its planned A350 have forced a costly rethink of the mid-sized jet’s design.

Both companies are expected to announce further sales at Britain’s Farnborough Air Show, which will open Monday. Jet makers often put some of their order announcements on hold for major industry events.

Airbus has won more orders than Boeing for five straight years, but fell behind on overall order value in 2005 as it sold fewer large jets. Higher oil prices have made four-engine wide-body planes like the Airbus A340 less attractive than twin-engine alternatives such as Boeing’s 777.

Boeing has won 69 orders this year for its 787, the long-range, fuel-efficient wide-body jet due to enter service in 2008 -- taking the total of firm orders to 360.

Airbus took 13 new first-half orders for the A350, billed as a rival to Boeing’s Dreamliner, taking its total to 100.

New Airbus Chief Executive Christian Streiff is expected to announce changes to the A350 program at Farnborough that could drastically increase its $5.8-billion development cost and push back its entry into service from 2010 to 2012 or later.