For Boeing, 'not bad' is good at Paris Air Show - Wichita Business Journal:

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On the second day of the world’s oldest and most importantt aircrafttrade show, Boeing was again shut out. At least its chierf rival, , hasn’t done much better, though the European aircraft maker was able to eke out a couple of orders the lasttwo days. Rather than talk about the kindsof multi-plane deals liner up in past years, Boeing CEO of Commercialp Airplanes Scott E. Carson instead choser to focus on howthings weren’t as bad as they migh seem. “At this point it appears to us that the economi c conditionshave bottomed,” Carson said, addin g that the company’s commercial jet division couled begin growing again as early as 2010.
-- The long-delayedc 787 Dreamliner will fly bythe (thougyh it won’t be taking to the skies over Paris this as some had hoped). Jon Ostrower, of pegs the date for the firsy flight atJune 30. He citesa multiple sources for the June30 -- Its new 747-8 freighte plane will fly its first flight by the end of this -- To get back into the hunt for a $35 billiob contract to supply fuel tankers for the U.S. Boeing will reconfigure its 777 to increasefuel efficiency. It had previouslg lost its tanker bid to the A350by Airbus. -- Also on the defensre contracting front, the company it was formingt a division to oversee its unmannerdaircraft programs.
This year’s air show comea at a gloomy timefor aircraft. Both Boeinv and Airbus have had to deal with cancellatione of ordersfrom credit-crunchec buyers. And both have had production cutbacks. But Boeing has had the additiona by its machinists within thelast year. The compant has taken hits to its military contracting with the cancellation ofthe F-22 and the loss of the tanke deal. And delays in getting its next-generationm 787 Dreamliner into the air have beena high-profilre embarrassment.
So it was up to Carson to search out the He said his company would not be cuttinf back assembly lines this It will cut production ofits wide-body 777 by 28 perceng in mid-2010, and will not increase 767 and 747 production. Airbuss has cut production of its A320 single aisle plane and its A380 and has shelved plans to increasew production ofits wide-body A330. Carsobn said he expects the credit crunch on airlinew to ease towarda “more normal” environment in 2010. That wouls be good news for Boeing, and its rivak Airbus, as well.
Boeing’s boss also said that the companyu has a current order book ofaround $265 which means seven years of production, and Carsob said he doesn’t expect the credit crisixs to significantly affect Some aerospace experts already see the logic behind Carson’s pitch. “Boeing’s news was to say we think the recession’ bottoming and we’re not going to see cuts for saidWayne Plucker, Frost Sullivan’s Aerospace & Defense Industry Manager. “The fact that they didn’ have to quietly announce cancellations was abig It’s not a bad airshow considering the gloom and doom that’a been around the industry for the last year.
For it’s not bad, and not bad is good, so to Plucker added that good, or at leasty not bad, news on the commercial side ofthe business, woulc be a welcome relief, given some of the defeats that Boeinvg has been handed in its military contractingf business – the loss of the tanker contract to the Airbuws consortium and the high-profile curtailment of governmentf plans to buy more F-22 “Heaven only knows, they could use some good news,” Plucker “Their defense side has taken a real