Airbus, Boeing Celebrate Bountiful 2011
Airbus, Boeing 2011 order totals
Sales of more than 1,000 A320-series jets, led by the new A320neo, propelled Airbus's 2011 order total past 1,300. (Photo: Airbus)
Sales of more than 1,000 A320-series jets, led by the new A320neo, propelled Airbus's 2011 order total past 1,300. (Photo: Airbus)

Airbus and Boeing each finished 2011 with some robust order figures by any standard, but during a time of a tediously slow recovery from economic recession, last year’s figures proved all the more impressive. Still, if one were inclined to view the companies’ respective performances as a race to market share, Airbus appeared to emerge as the clear winner, at least in terms of total unit sales.