LE BOURGET, France (AP) — Airbus announced a series of orders for its smaller single-aisle jets Thursday, racking up 80 purchases for the A320 family of short- to medium-haul planes.
On its home turf, Airbus so far seems to have the edge over its rival Boeing at the Paris Air Show, which serves as a platform for the sales race between the giants.
The European plane-maker said Thursday that it has clocked about $70 billion in sales at the show, but it also acknowledged that it has a problem with its large backlog, which will delay the delivery of jets.
The show is a rare venue where the plane makers go head to head, and each tends to inflate its sales figures — a common tactic is to notch up previously announced purchases that hav been firmed up at the show. According to an Associated Press tally of new orders, Airbus' sales stand at $54.8 billion. Boeing has not yet announced its own total, but the AP tally shows it has made $18.8 billion in sales.
On Thursday, leasing company Hong Kong Aviation Capital agreed to buy 40 of Airbus' new generation A320 jets and 20 new generation A321s.
U.S.-based budget carrier Spirit Airlines, meanwhile, scooped up 20 of the current generation A321s and also converted 10 previous orders for A320s into A321s. Spirit's planes will all be fitted with add-ons to the wings that will increase fuel efficiency and feature a single-class layout to let the airline squeeze in more passengers.