Airbus SAS came within reach of its annual order target after adding almost $15 billion in sales on the fourth day of the Paris Air Show, prompting its sales chief to quip that he might take the rest of the year off.  Boeing Co. and Airbus SAS reasserted their dominance at the aviation industryâs largest trade expo as challengers including Bombardier Inc. failed to win any orders for single-aisle jets, the workhorses of global airline fleets.  Airbus SAS said itâs starting to explore ways to refresh its flagship A380 to improve performance toward the end of the decade and keep the double-decker plane competitive as newer long-range jets draw customers.  AirAsia Bhd., the regionâs biggest budget carrier, selected an engine venture between General Electric Co. and Safran SA to power 100 new planes it ordered in December.  Ryanair Holdings Plc, Europeâs biggest discount airline, said it will return 1 billion euros ($1.3 billion) to shareholders over the next two years. The shares rose the most in a month.  Airbus SAS is exploring the purchase of a factory owned by U.S. supplier Spirit Aerosystems Holdings Inc. to limit production risks on its A350 wide-body, the head of the aircraft program said.  Boeing Co. took a direct swipe at the Airbus SAS A350 by stretching its Dreamliner, leaving the European rival to show it can hold its ground in the market for wide-body aircraft.  Airbus SAS plans to boost production of its A320 short-haul aircraft to satisfy demand for an upgraded model, with output potentially reaching 50 planes each month by 2020.  Embraer SA, the Brazilian planemaker upgrading its signature family of regional jets, won $709 million of orders from four airlines for the current versions, Chief Executive Officer Frederico Curado said.  Airbus SAS said it must strike a balance in the ramp-up of its new A350 between a sales force seeking to push out planes and engineers advocating a slower approach to permit changes before too many aircraft are built.  Steven Udvar-Hazy, the self- proclaimed godfather of aircraft leasing, said Boeing Co.âs stretched Dreamliner has better fuel economy over Airbus SASâs A350-900, making the new 787 attractive to airlines.  Boeing Co. said its stretched 787 Dreamliner promises to match sales of the smallest variant, boosting the planeâs order tally as much as 60 percent, as it expanded its wide-body lineup to blunt an Airbus SAS challenge.  Airbus SAS, Boeing Co. and Embraer SA won $19 billion in orders from lessors on the first day of the Paris Air Show, gaining support for some of the newest and largest planes from buyers spanning the global airline industry.  EasyJet Plc agreed to buy 135 Airbus SAS jets worth about $13.22 billion at list price as Europeâs No. 2 low-cost carrier upgrades its fleet, reopening a confrontation with its founder, who has opposed the purchase.  Raytheon Co., the worldâs largest missile maker, is turning to exports of products such as combat jet radars and Patriot air-defense systems to prop up revenue as the U.S. curbs defense spending.  Airbus SAS announced an agreement with lessor Doric Asset Finance Ltd. for 20 A380 superjumbos valued at $8.1 billion at list price, in a boost for the worldâs largest passenger jet thatâs struggled to win business.  General Electric Co.âs aircraft leasing division plans to order 10 of the largest Boeing Co. 787 jets, the first time it has purchased the Dreamliner aircraft, a person familiar with the plan said.  Boeing Co. said demand for the 747-8 jumbo jet, its largest and most-expensive model, will recover even as the company stashes some planes in desert storage and slows the production rate.  The rivalry over engine sales for more than 1,100 narrow-body jets flared anew when a fuel-saving claim by a General Electric Co.-Safran SA joint venture spurred Pratt & Whitney to denounce the assertion as âgarbage.â  Raytheon Co. said its Patriot technology is enjoying renewed demand that may help the worldâs largest missile maker double its customer base for the air defense system.  The Swedish air force plans to decide whether to upgrade or replace its fleet of eight Lockheed Martin Corp. C-130 transport planes as part of a 10-year strategic program due to be formalized next year.
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