Boeing Reiterates Plane Delivery Forecast
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Boeing does not expect its airline customers to cancel aircraft deliveries this year over funding difficulties, commercial planes marketing chief Randy Tinseth said at the Paris Air Show on Tuesday.
Boeing is starting to see signs of stabilization in the economy, which should translate into growth in air traffic from mid-2010, Tinseth said.
The freight market, which Tinseth described as a leading indicator of the economy, is "starting to look like it is bouncing along the bottom", he said.
Tinseth reiterated Boeing's forecast to deliver 480-485 planes this year and said the company's new 787 Dreamliner will fly before the end of June.
"It doesn't look like we'll have any deliveries delayed or cancelled as a result of airlines not being able to get funding or the price of that funding," Tinseth said.
However, it is too early to make predictions for 2010, Tinseth said. There is "a lot of volatility and uncertainty" in the future, and airlines are just beginning to look at their financing needs for next year, he explained.
"It's clearly a very difficult time for our airline customers in the light of the worldwide recession. We're working closely with them to better understand their needs and wants. We're trying to make sure we balance supply and demand in the market place," Tinseth said.
"Our customers are working very hard to help towards cutting their costs, reducing their schedules. They're doing everything they can to maintain profitability.
With oil prices at around USD$70 a barrel the trend seen over the last few years for airlines to renew their fleets with more fuel efficient models would continue.
STABILIZING ECONOMY
"We're clearly starting to see some stabilization in the economy," said Tinseth, adding that there could be economic growth in the fourth quarter, followed, he hoped, by traffic growth sometime in the middle of 2010.
Tinseth said he was confident air travel would pick back up again. "Flying is an integral part of the economic and social fabric of the world - so when the economy starts to grow we're confident that people will return to flying."
