Two Planes Ordered, Four Orders Cancelled Last Month

Net orders for Airbus airplanes dropped to 123 for the year, after four orders were cancelled against orders for just two new airplanes last month.

The cancellations in September included three narrow-body airplanes that were to go to Kingfisher Red, a low-cost subsidiary of India's Kingfisher Airlines, and one wide-body A320 planned for Guggenheim Aviation Partners, according to a Reuters analysis of monthly data.

Airbus says it has delivered 358 aircraft so far this year, including 38 in September alone. September's deliveries included one more A380 to Singapore Airlines.

Airbus says it still hopes to match its 2008 deliveries of 483 aircraft this year.

Boeing is also reporting a decrease in the number of orders, and an increase in cancellations. Reuters' analysis indicates most of those cancellations are from the beleaguered Dreamliner program, which has seen more than two years of delays. Boeing currently holds 79 firm orders for airplanes this year, but that number had been as high as 170. Company officials still say the Dreamliner will fly before the end of 2009.

FMI: www.airbus.com, www.boeing.com