Airbus is king of the skies - by Mark Leftly

For the ninth successive year, Europe has emerged victorious in what has become one of the great transatlantic rivalries. Airbus, owned by the pan-European manufacturer EADS, had a record year for the industry in 2011, with 1,419 firm orders – worth around $140bn (£91bn) – for its aircraft, the best part of double that of Boeing.

The US group now has the lowest market share in the four-decade history of its great, often spiteful, competition with Airbus. Boeing will argue its jets have a higher average price tag, but even then EADS has a 54 per cent market share by value.

Announcing the order numbers in Hamburg yesterday, EADS chief executive Louis Gallois said: "We are more than a symbol of European integration. We are the part of Europe that works."

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