Airbus takes off with sales of US$21b

[FARNBOROUGH, England] Airbus Group dominated the first day of the Farnborough Air Show with a US$21 billion sales blitz to grab an early lead over Boeing Co at the aviation industry's biggest annual expo.

Boeing's tally came to about US$7.7 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg Industries. The Chicago-based planemaker may quickly punch back: it is close to announcing jet purchases valued at as much as US$9.2 billion by Air Lease Corp and BOC Aviation Ltd, people familiar with the talks said.

Airbus' fast start at the event outside London was welcome news for a company that amassed only 290 net aircraft orders after cancellations during the first half, trailing Boeing's 499.