Now If Boeing Could Just Get Its Mechanics Back To Work

Four years after the bottom almost completely fell out of the commercial airplane market, both Boeing and Airbus are poised to write a record number of sales contracts this year -- assuming that Boeing can get its striking mechanics back on the job and Airbus can somehow get its corporate hands on the money it says it needs to develop its 787 rival, the A350.

It's looking as if 2005 will "be a record year in terms of orders," according to Airbus sales chief John Leahy, quoted by the Wall Street Journal.

Boeing agrees. Leading the manufacturing sector's remarkable recovery are new orders in China and India -- where aviation growth is expected to be phenomenal over the next two decades, Boeing sales honcho Scott Carson told the Journal. Boeing's official forecast, covered in the Tuesday edition of Aero-News, projects a $213 billion market for new aircraft in China alone between now and 2025.

But every silver cloud has a dark lining, it would seem. Executives at both companies project a few lean years after the current rush to lock in contracts is over, as airlines the world over absorb the new stock.

Can anything dampen this almost jubilant forecast? Yes, said Carson. If US airlines continue to struggle, existing orders as well as new sales might certainly be affected. But looking back just four years, he hastened to add the downturn "won't be Death Valley."

FMI: www.boeing.com, www.airbus.com