Airbus won 140 aircraft orders in the first seven months of the year, boosted by a deal for 50 A320 planes from low-cost carrier Wizz announced at June’s Paris Air Show and confirmed in July, the European planemaker said.

Airbus’s airline customers cancelled orders for 22 aircraft during the period from January to July, including for five A350s, the plane it is developing to take on rival Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner. Net orders totalled 118.

The firm has about 5,000 staff at Filton, who work alongside manufacturing partner GKN.

The planemaker, owned by European aerospace and defence group EADS, said it had delivered 288 aircraft by July 31, including three A380 superjumbos to Singapore Airlines  and a fourth to Emirates.

Airbus has said it hopes to at least match the record number of deliveries achieved last year of 483 aircraft, and has pledged to deliver 10 more A380s this year. Airlines pay the bulk of the cost of new planes on delivery.

However, it has predicted a plunge in gross orders to up to 300 as airlines struggle with the economic downturn and a drop in air travel. Airbus had 900 gross orders and 777 net orders after cancellations last year.