Airbus posts record orders, ponders raising production

Airbus posted an industry record of 1,619 new airplane orders in 2013, pushing its backlog to almost nine years of production, and said it was examining the potential for a two-stage increase in production of its most popular jets.

The European planemaker reclaimed top spot in commercial orders from Boeing after repeatedly revising up its targets last year, but lost the delivery contest to its rival despite an internal record of 626 deliveries.

While booking more jets than ever in a year dominated by the launch of two new Boeing aircraft, Airbus revoked orders for its A380 and A350 jets from India's Kingfisher Airlines, which has not been flying since 2012 due to cash shortages and regulatory problems.After adjusting for cancellations, Airbus total net orders rose 80 per cent from the previous year to 1,503 aircraft.