Distant indeed seem the days when the two great rivals of commercial aviation, Boeing and Airbus, would use big air shows to trumpet hundreds of new orders. This week's biennial show in Paris was a much more sombre affair, even if the Boeing-Airbus feud still took centre stage.rnThere were one or two bright spots. Air bus was able to boast of a firm order for ten of its wide-body A350S from AirAsia x. John Leahy, its top salesman, expects deliveries in 2009 to match last year's record 483. Boeing, which was hit by a prolonged strike in 2008, will probably deliver more aircraft this year than last. Both firms built up huge backlogs in the fat years: each has orders for about 3,500 planes.
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