USA: Boeing Racing To Hit 2015 Sales Target

Boeing has booked 11 new orders worth about USD$1.1 billion at list prices, leaving it with about 180 more sales to land this month to meet its 2015 target.

Boeing also affirmed that orders will roughly equal the 755-760 aircraft it had expected to deliver to customers this year.

Airbus said earlier this week it had booked 1,007 net orders by November. That compares with 575 net orders for Boeing as of Thursday.

With its total topping 1,000, Airbus appears almost certain to win the annual order race, but for deliveries, Boeing is likely to again beat Airbus.

Boeing's latest orders included 10 737s for Turkish Airlines and one 767 for FedEx. Four orders for 737s were cancelled.

Boeing said the lost orders were "straightforward NG cancellations," referring to the current 737NG model, and not conversions of orders to the forthcoming 737 MAX.

Conversions have been a frequent cause of 737NG cancellations this year and do not reduce the order book as outright cancellations do.

Boeing rolled out the first 737 MAX this week at its factory in Renton, Washington.

The plane, which runs on 14 percent less fuel than the current 737, is due to make its first flight early next year and enter service in 2017.