Airbus orders top Boeing sales as Virgin America buys 30 jets

• Last year Airbus took orders for 644 aircraft worth $84bn
• Boeing won orders worth $70bn for 625 planes in 2010

Virgin America helped Airbus pip Boeing at the post to retain its crown as the world's largest commercial plane-maker.

Airbus trailed its arch-rival Boeing in number of orders for most of 2010 but moved ahead after a flurry of sales at the end of the year. At the end of December, Virgin America, Richard Branson's upstart US airline, ordered 30 of the updated version of Airbus's A320 model. Airbus has promised the A320 with the new engine option will cut fuel consumption and carbon emissions by 15% compared with the existing models, figures disputed by Boeing and some analysts. The $5.1bn (£3.2bn) contract was the first firm order for the updated aeroplanes.

The Virgin deal capped a year when Airbus took orders for 644 aeroplanes worth $84bn at list price. Boeing won 625 gross orders with a list price of $70bn. It was held back by delays to its 787 Dreamliner.

Both Airbus and Boeing are recovering strongly from an industry recession that saw combined demand for their planes fall by more than two-thirds in 2009. While there were still dozens of plane cancellations in 2010, and both firms have struggled with delays, Airbus secured more than twice the number of aeroplane orders in 2010 that it had anticipated.

Tom Enders, chief executive, said: "2010 has been better than we expected. We will look at 2011 more optimistically. Growth, especially in aviation, is back, and this is largely due to emerging markets. Asia, the Middle East, that's certainly been the focus."

Last week Airbus announced a $16bn deal with India's IndiGo for 180 aeroplanes, the largest single order for aircraft in commercial aviation history. The order includes 30 of Airbus's original A320 single-aisle jets and 150 with Airbus's new engine-option A320s.

Airbus delivered more planes than its US rival for the eighth consecutive year. Its total of 510 deliveries, up from 498 in 2009, topped the 500 mark for the first time at Airbus. Last year the company sold its 10,000th plane in its 40-year history. Boeing deliveries fell by 4% to 462 aeroplanes from 481.

John Leahy, Airbus sales chief, said: "These figures show the economy is improving. We have dodged the bullet on a double-dip recession. Aviation is growing again because of Asia, low-cost carriers and emerging markets. The only negative on the horizon is the fuel price."