Airbus sales nose in front of Boeing

AIRBUS executives are set to boast that they will outgun Boeing for much of the next decade and beyond.

The European airplane manufacturer will next week report annual sales outstripping its American arch-rival for the first time, with deliveries of more than 300 planes last year. Boeing is expected to hit its forecast figure of 280.

It will be the first time in the 36-year history of Airbus - which is 20% owned by Britain's BAE Systems and which employs 10,000 people in the UK - that it has captured more than 50% of the global airline production market.

Senior Airbus executives also expect the company to beat Boeing this year, forecasting delivery of 300 aircraft against industry predictions of 275 for Boeing. They are expected to add that their pre-eminence will be consolidated over a longer period.

Rainer Hertrich, co-chairman of Airbus parent company Eads, recently said privately that he expects Airbus to out deliver Boeing over 'the next six to 10 years'.

Airbus has already bagged about 130 orders for its 555-seater A380 superjumbo, which will go into service in 2006, but Boeing is expected to fight back towards the end of the decade with its 250-seater 7E7 Dreamliner.

The latest annual delivery figures will show that Boeing's production has been cut by a staggering 55% over the past five years.