Boeing reclaims large order lead over Airbus

Though Airbus briefly raced past Boeing's jet order tally with a big sales haul at the Paris Air Show in June, Boeing has again surged far ahead of its rival, according to order figures released by the European planemaker Tuesday.

Airbus reported 713 gross new orders for the year through August 31, with a net total after cancelations of 656 jets. (The latter figure, which Airbus does not provide, can be calculated indirectly from cumulative order totals.)

Boeing booked 773 gross orders through the same date, or 763 net orders.

At the end of July the rivals were nearly even: Boeing had 698 gross orders for the year to Airbus' 688.

The summer's order pace means 2007 is shaping up as another blockbuster year for Boeing. By the end of August last year, Boeing had only 561 orders, yet it finished 2006 with a record 1,044 net orders.

Boeing updates its order tally weekly, and sales have been streaming in steadily. In the latest update, through September 5, Boeing boosted its total to 851 gross orders, or 841 net.