Jan. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Airbus SAS, the world's biggest commercial aircraft maker, delivered more planes than Boeing Co. for a second straight year, a person familiar with Airbus said.

Airbus delivered 320 planes last year, up 5 percent from 2003, the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Chief Executive Noel Forgeard told employees in a memo yesterday that the European planemaker exceeded its 2004 target. Airbus set a goal of 300 deliveries at the start of the year, and raised it in October to between 315 and 320 planes.

The rebound in airline demand after a three-year slump has been stronger in Europe and Asia, where Airbus has more of its customers. Airbus also has a broader range of more modern planes, with cockpits that are configured similarly, to cut pilot training costs. Boeing delivered 285 planes last year, up from 281 in 2003.

``Boeing just doesn't seem to compete in a large chunk of the market,'' said John Middleton, an analyst at ABN Amro in London, who has an ``add'' rating on the shares of Airbus's parent, European Aeronautic, Defense & Space Co. ``That gap just highlights the fact that Airbus has a better product portfolio.''

Airbus Takes the Lead

Airbus surpassed Chicago-based Boeing for the first time in 2003 with 305 planes to 281. The Toulouse, France-based company had a backlog of 1,379 planes on Nov. 30 compared with 1,060 for Boeing, an indication that it will be able to maintain its lead for the next few years.

Airbus's A380, which enters service in 2006, will eclipse Boeing's 747 as the world's largest passenger plane and the planned new Airbus A350 has slowed orders for Boeing's new 7E7, Boeing Vice President for Marketing Randy Baseler said on Dec. 10.

Airbus spokeswoman Barbara Kracht declined to comment on the delivery figure. Forgeard is scheduled to discuss sales figures for 2004 at a press conference in Paris on Jan. 12.

``Airbus delivering more aircraft isn't something we lose a lot of sleep over,'' said Todd Blecher, a Boeing spokesman. ``It pings our pride a bit, but given the duopoly situation of the industry, some years they sell more, some years we do, depending on market conditions. We're thrilled with the response about the 7E7 and believe we're well positioned for the future.''

Forgeard said in the memo, a copy of which was obtained by Bloomberg News, that the company ``outperformed financially despite the looming threat of the euro/dollar exchange rate, and, with the market recovery, our sales were more than satisfactory.''

Share Prices

Shares of EADS fell 18 cents, or 0.9 percent, to 20.98 euros in Paris today. The stock has risen 16 percent over the last 12 months compared with a 20 percent gain for Boeing, which rose 83 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $50.81 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading today.

Airbus's third-quarter earnings before interest and tax rose to 400 million euros ($531 million) from 80 million euros on more deliveries and as a higher percentage of the planes were larger aircraft. Boeing's profit in the commercial aircraft business rose more than four times to $168 million in the quarter.

Plane sales are rising as airline passenger traffic worldwide has recovered to levels about those before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the U.S. Demand is particularly strong from low-cost carriers such as Ryanair Holdings Plc and EasyJet Plc, which are growing faster than older carriers, including British Airways Plc.

Last year's combined deliveries of 605 aircraft is still well behind the peak year of 1999, when the two aircraft makers delivered a total of 867 planes.

Low-Cost Carriers

Airbus has moved ahead of Boeing partly by gathering more orders from low-cost carriers, once a Boeing stronghold. In the last year Airbus has won 87 percent of aircraft orders from low- cost airlines. Boeing's 737 series competes with Airbus's A320- series in that business.

In January 2003, Forgeard told journalists that Airbus's earlier forecast for 300 deliveries in the year was no longer an official forecast because the market appeared to be worsening; Airbus ended up delivering 305 planes that year.

Forgeard said in October that Airbus plans to increase production and deliveries by less than 10 percent in 2005, and by more than 10 percent in 2006.

To contact the reporter on this story: Andrea Rothman in Toulouse, France at aerothman@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: January 5, 2005 16:19 EST