Market Scan Airbus Losing Dogfight With Boeing Chris Noon, 01.17.07, 2:50 PM ET Even though Airbus made a record 434 aircraft deliveries for 2006, = surpassing the 398 planes supplied by Boeing, its commercial position = versus its U.S. rival is looking weak. = Airbus, whose parent company is European Aeronautics Defense and = Space, booked only 790 orders last year, well below the 1,044 won by = Boeing. Airbus had led Boeing for new orders since 2001. Airbus had = 2006 revenues of approximately 26 billion euros ($33.61 billion). EADS shares fell 77 euro cents ($1.00), or 3.0%, to 24.97 euros = ($32.25), in mid-afternoon trading in Paris. = Despite EADS' bumper profits in recent years, analysts say the future = of Airbus' commercial position against Boeing depends on its wide- body jets. Its position in this market segment is worrying. = Boeing's 787 aircraft represents a serious challenge to Airbus. = Launched over two and a half years ago, the long-range, middle-market = jet has secured over 450 orders from some of the world's most = prestigious carriers. The new plane is to enter service in 2008. Airbus' position in the high-profit-margin, wide-body jet market is = not nearly as auspicious. Airbus has launched the A350 as its = response to the 787. While the A350 has garnered just over 100 firm = orders, it is not yet popular with first-tier carriers. Airbus hopes = to have over 200 orders for its A350 by the end of this year. = At a board meeting in December, EADS bosses decided to approve the 10 = billion euro ($13.0 billion) A350 project and said the firm would = provide most of the funding itself. = However, the cost of the project has worried many analysts. It = emerged Wednesday that EADS may ask shareholders for authorization to = raise fresh capital on the financial markets, which could include = issuing new shares. The development of the A350-XWB plane and the possibility that new = charges will be needed to put the jinxed A380 superjumbo program back = on track, may require measures to "strengthen our capital base," = Chief Financial Officer Hans Peter Ring said during a conference with = several Airbus executives. Airbus Chief Executive Louis Gallois said = later that several options would be considered, "including a capital = increase." Gallois also confirmed that Airbus will deliver its first A380 = superjumbo to Singapore Airlines in October. Airbus plans to deliver = 440 to 450 planes this year. = One analyst told Forbes.com that Airbus' sorry-looking ledger was = caused by a lack of "customer confidence" and agreed there may now be = a stigma attached to the company after its shocking 2006. "Airbus has lost a lot of that [goodwill] and proved it this morning = by Gallois saying their customers has stood by them, then later = saying one of the key areas for 2007 was to 'restore' confidence," = said Doug McVitie, an industry consultant with Arran Aerospace. = "Airbus in 2007 means uncertainty and unfulfilled promises, so once = again it's only natural that potential customers are a little = reticent at taking the company 'at its word.' It's indicative of the = restrictive thinking at Airbus that senior management today could = talk about 2006 being a 'good year' and finishing with the 'biggest = backlog in the history of the industry.' Airbus will need to prove it = can keep its promises before it gets another chance to break them," = McVitie added. = The best slide auction on the net: http://www.auctiontransportation.com/sites/psa188/