Boeing cautious on eve of decision
With the Qantas board debating one of the biggest aircraft deals in recent history, industry heavyweight Boeing has suggested that 2005 may be the peak of the market and coming years could see a tightening in aircraft sales.
Boeing, along with European rival Airbus, is on track for its best-ever year, with 806 firm commercial plane orders already in the book for 2005, helped by a recovery in air travel and strong demand from Middle Eastern and Asian carriers.
“The only thing you can do is look historically”, said Randy Baseler, Boeing’s vice president of marketing for commercial airplanes. “The next year tends not to be as high,” said Baseler. “Every cycle is different. The tendency is that orders will be somewhat lower than this year.”
By the end of October, Airbus had nearly 500 orders this year, while Boeing said it has received 800 orders as of the end of November.
Baseler said he expects price competition with Airbus to continue over the next few years, forcing Boeing to keep manufacturing costs as low as possible.
No doubt both manufacturers will be sitting anxiously by the phone over the next couple of days.
Graham Muldoon
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Phocuswright reveals the world's largest travel markets in volume in 2025
Higher departure tax and visa cost, e-arrival card: Japan unleashes the fiscal weapon against tourists
Cyclone in Sri Lanka had limited effect on tourism in contrary to media reports
Singapore to forbid entry to undesirable travelers with new no-boarding directive
Euromonitor International unveils world’s top 100 city destinations for 2025