PARIS: Europe’s Airbus dropped behind US rival Boeing in the race for new airplane orders in the first quarter, sending its shares lower as it recorded its slowest start to the year since 2011.

Both orders and deliveries at the European planemaker dwindled, with the latter affected by glitches and delays at US engine supplier Pratt & Whitney.

The planemaking unit of Airbus Group did win a fresh boost for its struggling A380 superjumbo with two sales to an undisclosed customer. But the impact on Airbus’s order book was dampened by the cancelation of two A380s by Reunion-based Air Austral which had hoped to introduce a high-density version for tourist flights.

Airbus said on Monday it had sold a gross total of 32 aircraft and delivered 125 in the first quarter, down 74 percent and 7 percent respectively compared with the same period last year. After adjusting for cancelations, it posted 10 net orders the lowest figure for the first quarter since 2011.

Boeing had reported 140 gross orders between January 1 and April 5, or 122 after cancelations.

Shares in Airbus Group fell 1.5 percent against a slightly firmer market. The group also faces growing disruption in export credits amid a potential British corruption probe.

Boeing rose 1.2 percent in early trading.

Boeing’s first-quarter orders were dominated by sales of 737s to United Airlines and at least one undisclosed customer.

But industry sources say the sale to United Airlines came at a hefty discount and the two sets of company figures did little to dispel talk of a slowdown in aircraft markets that has weighed on some sector stocks this year.