Toulouse, France - European aircraft manufacturer Airbus beat out rival Boeing in 2008 by booking 777 orders for its aircraft, compared to 662 registered by its US competitor, Airbus head Thomas Enders said on Thursday.

The 777 orders have an approximate value of 100 billion dollars. In addition, Airbus delivered 483 aircraft last year, surpassing its goal for the year of 470 as well as the 375 aircraft delivered in 2008 by Boeing, which was handicapped by a crippling strike.

However, Enders said that 2009 was likely to be a "horrible" year in which the global recession could lead to the number of orders slipping below the number of aircraft delivered for the first time since 2003.

Toulouse, France - Australian carrier QantasQantas has taken delivery of the first of the 20 Airbus A380 superjumbo aircraft it has ordered, Airbus said Friday.

The aircraft was handed over to Qantas CEO Geoff Dixon at a ceremony at Airbus headquarters in the southern French city of Toulouse.

The world's largest commercial airliner, the A380 typically seats 525 passengers but can seat up to 850, depending on cabin configuration.

The Qantas A380 will have a more spacious cabin, with only 450 seats, 332 of them in Economy class, Airbus said in its statement.

Toulouse, France  -  European aircraft manufacturer Airbus said Tuesday it would be raising prices