Meanwhile, Airbus SAS, Boeing's main competitor, had an order book for 4,682 aircraft.

Airbus raised its global deliveries by 10 percent to 588 civil aircraft in 2012, the manufacturer said in January.

Boeing also improved its production rate by 26 percent in 2012, and delivered 601 aircraft to customers, its highest total since 1999.

The manufacturer doubled its production rate on the Dreamliner to five per month at the end of 2012, but many orders, including first deliveries to four Chinese airlines, are now delayed, in some cases by up to three years.

Jim McNerney, Boeing's chairman, said in January that its "first order of business for 2013 is to resolve the battery issue on the 787 and return the planes safely to service with our customers".

More than 60 Dreamliners are expected to be delivered in 2013, and Boeing admitted in its annual business plan that work on improving the production rate was needed this year.

wangwen@chinadaily.com.cn

 

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