FARNBOROUGH, 20 July 2004 — Demand for new passenger and freight aircraft is rebounding after an unprecedented global downturn and in spite of chronically high fuel costs, US manufacturer Boeing Co. and its European rival Airbus said yesterday at Britain’s Farnborough International Air Show.
Boeing announced a $2.96 billion sale of 777-300ER planes to Emirates Airline, while Airbus predicted it would exceed its planned delivery of new planes this year.
In a sign of their intense competition, executives for these two titans of civil aviation defended their respective strategies for future growth and traded accusations about government subsidies.
More than 300,000 people were to attend the air show this week where more than 1,300 exhibitors from 32 countries will show off the latest in aviation technology, including flight simulators and a space pavilion run by the British National Space Center.
A miniature town complete with traffic circles and avenues has sprung up on the 66-acre Farnborough Aerodrome site in southeastern England for the large temporary exhibition.
Security was tight with about 300 police officers, some carrying machine guns, on hand. British police are usually unarmed.
Boeing foresees 5.2 percent annual growth in global passenger traffic and 6.2 percent growth in air cargo business, after nearly three years of lost production due to the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the SARS epidemic in Asia, the bursting of the dotcom bubble and the war in Iraq. Boeing estimates that airlines will buy some 25,000 new planes worth $2 trillion over the next two decades, the company’s Chief Executive Alan Mulally said at a news conference.
Mulally argued that airlines will need aircraft to make longer and more frequent flights and will prefer flying point-to-point between final destinations rather than via congested hubs. Boeing, headquartered in Chicago, is developing its new medium-sized 7E7 aircraft to meet this hoped-for demand.
About 24 airlines have already paid deposits for more than 200 7E7s, and Boeing expects to convert some of these down payments into firm orders “through the end of this year,” Mulally said, speaking at the air show in southeastern England.
Airbus Chief Executive Noel Forgeard estimated that air traffic grew by 7 percent last year and would rise by 10 percent this year, even though aviation fuel prices have also increased. Airbus, based in Toulouse, France, has received 104 firm orders so far this year and claims more than half of the airline market.
Airbus foresees global sales of 16,000 aircraft over the next 20 years, at least 1,500 of them to China.
Boeing’s deal with Emirates Airline consists of a firm sale of four 777-300ER with options on nine more, for a total contract value of $2.96 billion. The four planes are to be delivered in 2006, with the optional sales to be completed by 2012.