Airbus is a leading aircraft manufacturer with the most modern and comprehensive family of airliners on the market, ranging in capacity from 100 to more than 500 seats. The company, which passed the 5,000th order mark in 2004, has delivered over 3,700 aircraft to more than 200 customers worldwide since it first entered the market in the early seventies, and boasts a healthy order book of some 1,500 aircraft for delivery over the coming years. With an annual turnover of more than 20 billion euro in 2004, Airbus is a global company, employing some 52,000 people of many different nationalities in design and manufacturing facilities in France, Germany, the UK, and Spain, as well as subsidiaries in the U.S., China and Japan. Airbus also operates spare parts and training centres in Europe, the U.S. and Asia, and provides round-the-clock support services to all Airbus operators, helping them enhance the profitability of their fleets. Headquartered in Toulouse, France, Airbus is an EADS joint Company with BAE SYSTEMS.