Air show marks end of order boom

By Tim Hepher and Rhys Jones

FARNBOROUGH (Reuters) - A $40 billion (20 billion pound) spree by Gulf oil states prevented aircraft orders from going into freefall at this week's Farnborough Airshow but left little for Airbus and Boeing to scrap over for the rest of the year.

Airbus, the planemaking unit of European aerospace group EADS (EAD.PA), squeezed out a handful of final orders on day four of a show that exposed a yawning divide between the industry's rich and poor as oil prices approach $150 a barrel.

Between them, Airbus and Boeing (BA.N) posted 444 firm orders worth $62 billion. That exceeded the forecasts of many who had said they would struggle to reach half the 600 firm deals seen at a similar showcase in Paris in 2007.

EADS shares rose 6.1 percent, while Boeing opened flat.

The fierce industry rivals came to Farnborough neck and neck with net 2008 orders of 487 planes for Airbus and 475 for Boeing, and are now close to their targets for the whole year.

Airbus posted firm orders of 247 planes worth $38 billion, bringing net orders so far this year to 734 aircraft.

Sales chief John Leahy upped his forecast for 2008 orders to more than 850 aircraft from 700, but acknowledged this meant a slowdown in the rest of the year as airlines hoard cash.

"There's definitely more softness in the second half than in the first," he told a news conference.