International Defense Business Will Offset US Slowdown, Labor Strife

By most accounts, it's good to be Boeing right now... or, at least, it's better than being Airbus. In a shareholder presentation Monday, Boeing CEO James McNerney said the American planemaker has what it takes to remain dominant in aerospace for years to come.

One key aspect of that plan is Boeing's expectation to surpass commercial (and, increasingly, defense) rival Airbus in the number of aircraft delivered within the next year. While Boeing did finally eclipse Airbus for orders in 2006, for the moment Airbus remains the largest planemaker, due to the number of aircraft sent out the door, and into customers' hands.

But that will soon change, McNerney (shown at right) told shareholders.

"I believe we'll see it as a year in which we turned the corner and positioned ourselves for a very exciting future," he said, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

McNerney also noted he sees an opportunity for Boeing Integrated Defense Systems to gain a foothold in the international defense market -- and that such a development would do much to offset reductions in US defense spending.

The company is "focusing on strengthening and leveraging our relationships and operations internationally," he said, adding the Asian and Middle East markets "alone represent more than $60 billion in potential international defense business over the next 10 years."

Buoyed by a $250 billion order backlog -- the largest in Boeing's history -- McNerney also said he feels current labor issues will also be solved, without work stoppages.

"I think we're working harder on creating dialog not as we run up to... agreements being put together, rather every day along the way, and hopefully that will bear fruit for both sides," he said.

As Aero-News reported Monday, workers in Long Beach rejected a three-year labor deal this past weekend.

FMI: www.boeing.com