July 16 (Bloomberg) -- Airbus SAS won a $7.2 billion aircraft order from South Korea's Asiana Airlines Inc. as the European planemaker extended its lead over Boeing Co. for business at the Farnborough International Air Show.

Airbus, the world's largest manufacturer of commercial planes, and No. 2 Boeing have accumulated orders valued at just more than $50 billion at the show as Middle Eastern and Asian carriers, as well as leasing companies, make up for slackening demand from U.S. and European airlines hurt by surging oil prices and slowing economies.

``All things considered, getting any orders is good in this environment,'' said Michael Derchin, an analyst at FTN Midwest Research Securities Corp. in New York. ``Thank God for the Asians and the Middle Easterners.''

Airbus said today that Seoul-based Asiana would take 30 of its A350 widebody planes. Rival Boeing said it won two orders for 737s, the stalwart of the short-haul travel market. The Chicago-based planemaker sold 35 737-800 planes valued at $2.6 billion to Malaysia Airline System Bhd. and 15 737-700s worth $934 million to lessor Aviation Capital Group.

The total after three days of the weeklong show is only slightly higher than the amount won by the two planemakers on just the first day of last year's Paris Air Show. Toulouse, France-based Airbus and Boeing won a combined $70 billion in orders at the Dubai Air Show in November.

Oil and Credit

Surging fuel prices and the declining availability of credit for aircraft purchases are crimping airlines' appetites for new planes, even as most would like to replace older jets with more fuel-efficient models. More than two dozen carriers have stopped flying or filed for bankruptcy protection in the past year, according to the International Air Transport Association. Global airline losses may surpass a combined $6.1 billion this year, IATA said at the air show.

Airbus, which has its double-decker A380 plane parked in the most prominent position on the Farnborough tarmac, has sold a mixture of single-aisle and long-haul planes at the show. The unit of European Aeronautic, Defence & Space Co. announced orders for 148 jetliners yesterday valued at more than $17 billion, on the second day of the show.

Asiana said today it will take a combination of all three variants of the Airbus A350 model, a rival to Boeing's 787 Dreamliner and 777.

Airbus Customers

The previous orders for Airbus include a $13 billion deal with Dubai Aerospace for A320-series planes and A350s, and an $11 billion accord with Etihad Airways of Abu Dhabi for 55 planes including the superjumbo A380. The planemaker also announced a $2 billion deal with Tunisair, and sales to Russia's OAO Aeroflot and Qatar Airways.

Arab carriers may almost double their combined fleet to 900 planes by 2015, according to a regional trade group. Etihad, Qatar Air and Dubai-based Emirates were among the biggest buyers last year for Boeing and Airbus.

Although part of the boom among Middle Eastern carriers appears speculative, ``they seem to have very robust plans and quite deep pockets,'' said Denis Ranque, chief executive officer of Thales SA, Europe's largest defense-electronics maker and a supplier to both Boeing and Airbus.

Ranque said he ``cannot be pessimistic'' because the manufacturers have massive backlogs and are unlikely to reduce production.

EADS rose 3.8 percent to 11.50 euros in Paris trading. Boeing's stock advanced 2.5 percent to $65.47 as of 2:47 p.m. in New York.

Middle East

Boeing sales at the show include a $9 billion order it had previously disclosed from Etihad and a $3.78 billion purchase of 54 737-800 aircraft by FlyDubai, a startup budget carrier owned by the emirate's government.

``There's been a huge transfer of wealth, because of oil, to the Middle East, so they're certainly looking to use those dollars to build up their infrastructure,'' FTN Midwest's Derchin said.

``It's not surprising that everything's from Asia and the Middle East,'' he said. ``They've got the money and they've got the need.''

Both Airbus and Boeing announced agreements with Aviation Capital, a Newport Beach, California-based leasing company. Boeing sold four 747-8 jumbo jets and seven 737s to Nigeria's Arik Air.

Silent so far at this year's air show is International Lease Finance Corp., the world's largest lessor.

Of the two largest planemakers, only Airbus has an order announcement scheduled on its public agenda for tomorrow. The commercial portion of the air show winds down at the end of the week as the public swarms Farnborough for weekend air displays.

``It's not going to be about big orders this week,'' said Scott Carson, Boeing's commercial airplanes chief executive.

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Last Updated: July 16, 2008 14:57 EDT