Aircraft manufacturer Airbus overtook competitor Boeing in the number of aircraft ordered last year.
Order intake amounted to 1,109, and Airbus delivered 718 aircraft.
Boeing, in turn, received orders for 912 new planes and delivered 763.
Airbus predicts that deliveries could rise to 800 this year, as production of the A320 Neo model has increased. But Airbus may be forced to stop production of the A380, the world's largest passenger plane. The reason is that orders for the model are running out.
Since the A380 was launched in 2007, Airbus has received 317 orders for the aircraft. The most important customer is the airline Emirates from Dubai. However, in the past two years, the company's order intake has stalled.
A new agreement with Emirates is crucial for the future, according to Airbus management, who assess that the Dubai-based company is alone in the market with sufficient muscle to order as many aircraft as Airbus would need.
By TT
