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New high in aircraft orders

CHENNAI: With the aviation industry maintaining an upswing in the wake of a passenger explosion and defence utilisation, the two major aircraft manufacturers — Boeing and Airbus — are expected to achieve new peaks in production and orders.

Seattle-based Boeing has released its figures for 2007. The company has reported all-time record gross orders of 1,423 for commercial jet sales, an increase of nearly 400 from the previous year, which was also a record. But taking into account the cancellations or otherwise, the net order for the year was 1,413 (1,044 aircraft in 2006).

According to the figures released by Boeing, the bulk of the orders last year was also for its mainstay — the Boeing 737 models — followed by the more attractive wide-bodied jets.

The European consortium, Airbus, based in Toulouse, France, has not yet released its orders for 2007, and is expected to do so by mid-January. As of November, Airbus had reported net orders for 1,095 aircraft. It remains to be seen if the European manufacturer is able to come up with order books to pip its archrival. It is expected that Airbus’ China order may decide its final count, if that order has been clinched.

Boeing has said that it delivered 441 commercial aircraft last year, as against 398 in 2006. It hopes to step up this delivery to at least 480 in the current year. A major feature of the 2007 orders relates to its ‘Dreamliner’ — the 787 — that will fly for the first time in the first half of this year. It has sold 369 of them last year, followed by 143 of its 777 models. However, it has not reported any sale of its new 747-8 super jumbo jet.

Industry sources expect the orders for both the manufacturers to start dipping from this year, as most of the airlines have apparently placed their orders for deliveries that will take place over the next four to five years. “The existing order books should keep the two aircraft manufacturers busy for the next five years. The anxiety will begin from then on. The aviation industry and the airlines themselves are at a crossroads. With stiff competition in the skies and a continuing fare war, the bottom lines of the airlines are not getting any healthier despite the boom in traffic,” explains a chief marketing manager of a private Indian airline.

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