Airbus outsold Boeing in 2005 with 1,055 net orders to cap a record year for both marked by fierce price competition and strong demand from Asian and budget airlines.
Airbus almost tripled the 366 net orders it had captured in 2004 and beat Boeing's tally of 1,002, despite many analysts' expectations that the European planemaker risked losing its lead for the first time since 2000.
Airbus had 678 orders at the end of November, trailing Boeing at 827.
At an annual news conference, Airbus said it also led Boeing in deliveries for a third consecutive year, with 378 planes leaving its assembly lines compared with 320 in 2004.
Boeing had 290 deliveries after a strike trimmed higher expectations.
Deliveries make up the bulk of Airbus revenues, which rose 10 per cent to €22.3 billion, up from €20.2 billion in 2004.
Airbus is 80-per cent owned by aerospace group EADS, with the rest owned by BAE Systems. The Airbus order backlog rose to 2,177 aircraft worth $220.3 billion from 1,500 at the end of 2004.
Airbus claimed victory over Boeing in orders, deliveries and backlog, with a 51 per cent share of net orders for jets able to seat at least 100 passengers and 55 per cent of the order book.
However, Airbus figures showed that its orders were mainly driven by sales of cheaper, single-aisle models to budget airlines, while it lost several deals for larger jets to Boeing.
Boeing had a record year for its twin-engined long-haul 777 and trumped Airbus's planned mid-sized A350 with strong sales of its new 787 Dreamliner.
Airbus said it had 87 firm orders and another 85 commitments for the newly launched A350, whereas Boeing said earlier this month it had sold 235 of the 787s last year.