=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SFGate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/n/a/2006/11/22/financial/= f074811S76.DTL --------------------------------------------------------------------- Wednesday, November 22, 2006 (AP) Airbus Share of New Orders Shrinks By LAURENCE FROST, AP Business Writer (11-22) 08:13 PST PARIS, France (AP) -- Airbus unvelied a bullish long-term forecast for global aircraft sales on Wednesday but said its share of new orders by value has shrunk to about 36 percent this year from 45 percent last year, as rival Boeing Co. grabbed more sales for mid-size and larger jets. The European plane maker's biennial market outlook predicted demand for 22,700 aircraft worth $2.6 trillion over the next two decades, a significant increase on its 2004 forecast of 17,300 planes worth $1.9 trillion for the 20 years to 2023. Airbus Chief Operating Officer John Leahy said much of the new demand was seen coming from the Middle East and emerging markets such as China and India — where the arrival of low-cost airlines is set to multiply growth in air travel among an expanding middle class. "This is a growth industry, no matter how you slice it," Leahy said at a news conference in London, broadcast live on the Airbus web site. Chicago-based rival Boeing Co. is on course to win more orders than Airb= us this year for the first time since 2000. Toulouse, France-based Airbus last month doubled the estimated production delay blighting its double-decker A380 to two years, denting its credibility among customers and prompting a 4.8 billion euro ($6.1 billion) profit warning by parent European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co. While the "chaos" surrounding the superjumbo has cost business, Leahy said, Airbus is on track to deliver a record 425 planes in 2006 and keep its deliveries lead over Boeing unbroken for a fifth straight year in 2007. "To sum up, this has been one of the best of years but it's also been one of the worst of years," Leahy said. Airbus has taken firm orders for 619 planes so far this year, or 43 percent of the total 1,441 orders placed with Airbus and Boeing, which had booked 822 as of Nov. 15. In terms of catalog value, however, Leahy acknowledged that Airbus' share of new business has shrunk further to "35 to 37 percent" this year, as Boeing sold about five times as many large and mid-sized airliners, which carry heavier price tags. Although Airbus set an industry record last year with 1,111 orders to Boeing's 1,002, its share by value fell to 45 percent, from 54 percent in 2004, as its mid-sized A330, A340 and planned A350 planes lost ground to the rival Boeing 777 and the 787 "Dreamliner," set to enter service in 2008. The extended slide in the value of Airbus orders increases pressure on parent EADS to commit to launching the A350, a badly needed rival to the 777 and 787. In July, Airbus presented an upgraded $10 billion A350 design dubbed XWB — for "extra-wide body" — promising a roomier passenger cabin, increased use of composite materials and Dreamliner-like larger windows. The decision on whether to launch the A350 has been complicated by chang= es at EADS. The German government has said it may buy a stake in the European defense group from DaimlerChrysler AG as the German carmaker pares its 22.5 percent holding, if another reliable investor cannot be found. But a spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel said Wednesday that the outlines of a deal had been agreed with investors and would be announced "soon." But Airbus' chief salesman said he expects the EADS board to decide on t= he A350 by the end of November. "Speaking on behalf of the world's airlines, I'm getting a lot of reques= ts for the A350 right now, especially the new XWB," Leahy said. --------------= -------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2006 AP