general

Boeing is being sued by an aircraft-leasing company seeking to cancel its order for 22 of the company's 737 MAX jetliners that it alleges is worthless because of the plane’s troubles. Dublin-based Timaero Ireland is seeking more than US$185m in damages after filing suit in Chicago Tuesday. Timaero, a subsidiary of Russia’s state-owned VEB Leasing, received the first two of its MAX jets last December and was due to take another pair this year as part of a deal struck in 2014. The firm alleged Boeing refused to repay advance payments made on the undelivered jets. Timaero alleges Boeing has breached its sales contract by not providing flyable aircraft, and was aware of the flight-control issues that investigators have pointed to as contributing to the twin crashes. <br/>

Airbus is on course to end 2019 with a rise in its order backlog after netting more sales than deliveries across its major products, a senior executive said Wednesday, thanks partly to strong demand in Asia. Airbus is expected to beat Boeing in orders and, unusually, in deliveries this year as the Boeing 737 MAX remains grounded with its production now also halted. The launch of a long-range new version of the mainstay Airbus A321 medium-range jet, and a wave of business in Asia, has led to a higher-than-expected haul for Europe's planemaker. CCO Christian Scherer, who stepped up from the ATR turboprop affiliate to take the top Airbus sales job just over a year ago, hinted that Airbus would top 1,000 gross orders this year, up at least 20% from 2018. <br/>