Airbus sold 41 jets in September and processed cancellations for nine jets including five originally sold to Norwegian Air, leaving the European firm ahead of Boeing in a relatively slow year for an industry distracted by safety and trade headlines. The European planemaker said it had won a total of 303 orders in the first nine months of the year, or 127 net new orders after cancellations. That remains well ahead of US rival Boeing, whose sales have been hampered by the grounding of its fast-selling jet, the 737 MAX, in the wake of two accidents in Indonesia and Ethiopia. Boeing registered sales of 145 aircraft up to end-August, the latest period for which data is available, or a net total of 55 after ordinary cancellations and a negative total of 85 after adjustments to historic orders deemed unlikely to materialize. Airbus posted new orders for 14 A220 and 10 A321neo planes to unnamed customers. Reuters reported last week it was close to a deal for around 12 A220 jets with Mexico’s Interjet. The overall tally of Airbus orders by low-cost carrier Norwegian Air fell to 88 aircraft from 93 after the airline trimmed its A320neo order by five aircraft, a monthly Airbus table showed. Monday’s update was the first since the US announced tariffs of 10% on Airbus aircraft, while sparing aircraft assembled in the planemaker’s Alabama plant.<br/>
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Concerns over the competition impact on the single-aisle aircraft market have spurred the EC to open an in-depth investigation into the planned tie-up between Boeing and Embraer. The regulator says it will particularly examine the situation in the 100- to 150-seat sector – in which the two airframers have "to a certain extent" aircraft types which address the same market. Boeing offers the 737 family in the single-aisle category while Embraer has the E-Jets, with both airframers having re-engined versions. The Commission says that while the US and Brazilian manufacturers both compete with Airbus – which has the A320 family and A220 in this sector – they "also seem to engage in head-to-head competitions". It also suggests Embraer has an influence over the broader single-aisle market, above 150 seats. "Despite Embraer's comparatively small market share it…seems to exert some price constraint on the market leaders," says the Commission. "The transaction may therefore eliminate a small but important competitive force in the concentrated overall single-aisle market," it adds.<br/>