Airbus is facing stiff competition from Boeing

Qatar Airways led the way, confirming an existing $16bn (£8.1bn) order for 80 A350 Airbus planes and ordering three A380 super-jumbos for about $750m.

Meanwhile US Airways ordered $10bn worth of planes - 22 A350s, 60 A320s and ten of its A330-200 wide-body jets.

But Airbus's main rival, Boeing, has announced a deal with General Electric (GE) at the show.

GE's commercial aviation services made an order for six 777 Boeing freighters valued at about $1.4bn, for delivery in the last three months of 2008.

Emirates deal

The deal between Qatar and Airbus - the commercial arm of European Aeronautic Defence and Space (EADS) - includes a $5.6bn contract for Rolls Royce to make the A350 engines.

AIR SHOW DEALS Qatar Airways: 80 x Airbus A350s; 3 x A380s - $16.75bn US Airways: 22 x A350s; 60 x A320s; 10 x A330-200 wide-body jets - $10bn Emirates: 8 x A380s - $2.5bn General Electric: 6 x Boeing 777s - $1.42bn Rolls Royce: deal to make A350 engines for Qatar Airways - $5.6bn Lufthansa: 30 x Embraer regional aircraft

And Dubai-based Emirates said it was buying eight more A380s, thought to be worth about $2.5bn.

The announcement by Emirates brought the total number of A380s it has ordered to 55.

But the airline said it was yet to decide on an order for A350 planes.

"For the A350 we have to make a decision in the next few months," said Emirates group chairman Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum.

Order battle

The show, a critical one for the industry, unites firms that make planes and equipment, as well as airlines and investors.

Airbus has invested heavily in its 555-seater double-decker A380, which has been beset with problems both in production and delivery.

Meanwhile Boeing's Dreamliner, which is set to use 20% less fuel than other planes of the same size, has been one of the US firm's key successes.

Also on Monday, Brazilian plane firm Embraer sealed orders totalling around $1bn. One deal was with Germany's Lufthansa for 30 regional aircraft, while another was with Japan Airlines for 10 of its smaller 170 model.