Airbus (AIR.PA) is on course to end 2019 with a rise in its order backlog after netting more sales than deliveries across its major products, a senior executive said on Wednesday, thanks partly to strong demand in Asia, reports Reuters.
Airbus is expected to beat arch-rival Boeing (BA.N) in orders and, unusually, in deliveries this year as the Boeing 737 MAX remains grounded with its production now also halted.
The launch of a long-range new version of the mainstay Airbus A321 medium-range jet, and a wave of business in Asia, has led to a higher-than-expected haul for Europe's planemaker.
Chief Commercial Officer Christian Scherer, who stepped up from the ATR turboprop affiliate to take the top Airbus sales job just over a year ago, hinted that Airbus would top 1,000 gross orders this year, up at least 20 per cent from 2018.
The robust performance comes despite trade tensions and US tariffs on Airbus jets in a transatlantic subsidy dispute, though Scherer insisted trade duties posed a "very serious problem" for airline clients.
Noting that Airbus has won 940 orders so far this year, Scherer said the planemaker expected to reach a milestone by the end of the year, in a clear sign it would cross the 1,000 mark.
He also said Airbus would show a book-to-bill ratio above one for every civil program, meaning net orders after cancellations would exceed delivery volumes.
"That includes the most recent arrival in the family, the A220," Scherer said.
The prediction appeared to exclude the A380, which is no longer being sold.