Boeing books record 1,413 commercial jet orders in 2007

[Andrew Lim 1]

Boeing books record 1,413 commercial jet orders in 2007

4 Jan, 2008, 2210 hrs AGENCIES

 

WASHINGTON: The Boeing Company received a record 1,413 orders for commercial airplanes in 2007, in a three-year streak of orders above 1,000, the US aerospace giant said on Friday.

 

Boeing also set new order records for its new 787 Dreamliner, the 737 and for Boeing freighters, the company, which is battling European rival Airbus for the lead in the global market, said in a statement.

 

The 2007 total topped the previous Boeing records of 1,044 net orders in 2006, and 1,002 orders in 2005.

 

"It has been another strong year for commercial aviation, and we are grateful for our customers' trust in our team, and our products and services," said Scott Carson, Boeing Commercial Airplanes president and chief executive.

 

The Chicago-based company said Friday it has more than 3,400 unfilled orders for commercial airplanes.

 

"We are now focused on executing this strong backlog position," said Carson, citing "challenges" in the past year in which the aerospace giant had to push back the first flight of the fuel-effficient 787 Dreamliner to 2008 because of technical problems.

 

The revised 787 schedule calls for a first flight at the end of the first quarter and first deliveries in November or December.

 

Boeing said 80 different customers ordered airplanes in 2007, including passenger airlines, cargo carriers, leasing companies and unidentified customers.

 

"2007 told us that global demand for commercial airplanes remains strong and sustained," Carson said.