Boeing Co. scored its first jet order at the Paris Air Show but remained well behind rival Airbus in the race to sell planes to cash-strapped airlines and governments. Boeing won an order for two of its updated 737-800 jets from MC Aviation Partners, valued at $153 million at list prices. The aircraft-leasing company is a unit of Japan's Mitsubishi Corp. The 737-800 is a short- to midrange, single-aisle aircraft that seats as many as 189 passengers. It competes with the Airbus A320, which has won dozens of orders at the air show. Airbus, a unit of European Aeronautic Defense & Space Co., has made more than $6.2 billion in sales of 57 aircraft at the show, largely from Asian and low-cost airlines. That is still well below the order tally of recent years. Philippines-based Zest Airways Inc. placed a firm order for a new single-aisle Airbus A320 on Wednesday to further its quest to expand across Southeast Asia. The list price of the jet is about $76 million, though airlines often negotiate discounts. Airbus is suffering on the defense front. As delays mount for the maiden flight of the A400M military transport, Lockheed Martin Corp. and Boeing are offering their C-130J and C-17 models, respectively, as alternatives to the European air forces. Boeing Co will remain a strong force in the military aircraft market in the future, said James Albaugh, who heads Boeing Co's defense sector, on Wednesday, citing continued strong demand for Boeing's F/A-18 fighters, its P-8 maritime surveillance plane, and a range of different unmanned vehicles. Albaugh said the company's C-17 transport plane was also still generating international interest. He said he also saw a potential market for another 500 F/A
