Airbus chief commercial officer John Leahy told a press conference in Auckland

that the plane maker did not expect to gain any big competitive advantage from possible further delays to the Boeing 787 programme. He said Airbus would not benefit from delays to Boeing’s production schedule, “unless it comes out that there is some sort of design shortfall on the aircraft”. Besides, “we are sold out for several years with our A350 aircraft”, he pointed out. Regarding this latest programme, Mr Leahy said he did not expect any delay to the 2013 target for service entry of the A350, adding that the group still forecast around 750 aircraft orders in 2008, or even more “if the market stays strong”. Dow Jones Newswires (08/04)