Boeing expects to deliver 530 aircraft next year, and a "comparable" number in 2002, as new orders continue to be booked, the company's operating margins improve and growth is maintained by a "robust commercial aircraft market", says company chairman and chief executive, Phil Condit.
Productivity improvements, implemented in the wake of the company's 1998 production crisis, are bearing fruit, says Condit. He expects "double digit" margins in 2001, "...two years ahead of when we expected to see that." Orders accumulated so far this year currently stand at 475, and deliveries are expected to reach 490. A total of 360 aircraft have already been handed over.
Condit also underlined Boeing's continued commitment to the launch of the proposed 747X, despite the recent successes of the Airbus A3XX.
"I am still expecting it to happen sometime in the next six months," he says. He cautioned, however, that "...if we get no orders we are not going to do it. We believe very strongly the market is moving towards point-to-point service. We will continue to stretch the legs of various of our products and if the 747X market doesn't develop, we won't spend the money."
Source: Flight International
