Norwegian cancellations spark Airbus jet order deficit

The disappearance of billions of dollars’ worth of orders from troubled budget carrier Norwegian Air has left Europe’s Airbus with more cancellations than orders so far this year, company data showed on Friday. Norwegian last month obtained an Irish court’s agreement to cancel all 88 aircraft on order from Airbus as it staves off collapse. It remains at loggerheads with Boeing over the status of a separate order for 97 U.S. passenger jets. The airline’s name was dropped from a monthly update of orders issued by Airbus on Friday, leaving the European firm with a negative total of 81 orders for January and February. The hefty upcoming order cancellations were reported on Feb. 23, on the eve of a court hearing at which agreement over the terms of the cancellation was announced.<br/>