FEWER aircraft were on display at the Paris air show, which opened on June 15th, than when it was last staged two years ago. Perhaps 120 planes and other flying machines stood on the French tarmac compared with 150 in 2013 (the show is held in Britain every other year). But this is far from a sign of gloom. Sales of big commercial jets are on a steep climb, and planemakers are busy getting their factories ready for another big increase in output.
Order books are bulging at Airbus and Boeing, the duopoly that dominates the market. The European firm forecasts that about 32,000 aircraft seating over 100 passengers will be delivered in the next 20 years (see right-hand chart). Its current backlog of 6,400 planes will take a decade to deliver. Boeing’s 5,800 will occupy it for eight years. And more orders piled up during the show. But the boom brings risks. The aircraft giants have to deliver the planes. And the market must absorb the new capacity.
Increasing production has proved troublesome in the past. Boeing’s attempts in 1997 to increase output of the 737, its most popular model, failed dismally. Neither suppliers nor its...
from The Economist: Business http://ift.tt/1fjK1J2
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