Airbus Narrows Gap With Boeing After 83 Orders In May

Airbus sold 83 aircraft in May, narrowing Boeing's lead in the race for orders after a slow start to the year.

New business included 60 new-generation narrow-body jets to at least one customer whose name was not disclosed, bringing the total number of aircraft ordered so far this year to 200.

After adjusting for cancellations, which included two A350-900s for leasing firm AWAS in May, net orders for the first five months stood at 162 aircraft, Airbus said.

Boeing remained ahead on orders, with 298 bookings or 268 after cancellations.

Airbus delivered over 234 aircraft between January and May, including nine A350s and seven A320neos.

The company said last week it was confident of meeting full-year targets despite a slow performance for both models in early 2016.

Airbus is targeting more than 650 deliveries this year including more than 50 A350s.