Boeing, the world's biggest aerospace and defence group, yesterday announced record commercial aircraft orders for 2005.

The US group is expected to have outsold Airbus for the first time since 2000.

Its European rival will disclose its full-year orders later this month. But Boeing is fighting back after taking a severe beating in the commercial aircraft market in recent years.

In five of the six years from 1999 to 2004 it was outsold by Airbus measured by gross new orders, and for the three years between 2003 and 2005 Airbus has delivered more commercial aircraft than Boeing.

The US group said it had taken 1,029 gross orders in 2005, nearly four times the 277 in 2004. The strong sales performances by both aircraft manufacturers have powered the civil aerospace industry to a record year in 2005.

Airbus said yesterday that the previous record year for sales of commercial aircraft (of 100 seats and above) was 1989, when gross sales totalled 1,528.

The high level of demand last year, which could represent the peak of the present cycle, has been fuelled by the launch of key new aircraft, strong demand from low-cost carriers, the rapid growth of aviation in Asia, particularly China and India, and the high oil price placing a premium on the fuel efficiency of new aircraft.