Looking ahead some more

Published 9:00 pm Wednesday, December 14, 2005

Sales tailing off in ‘06? Not so fast, says the Aerospace Industry Association. The trade group tells Aviation Daily http://www.aviationnow.com/avnow/news/channel_aviationdaily_story.jsp?id=news/AIAL12145.xml that it expects even HIGHER sales of commercial jets in the new year. Overall industry growth should be modest, however, given slumping defense sales.

Key Quote: “AIA expects civil aircraft sales of nearly $50 billion in 2006 ($48.6 billion in 2005 dollars) as rising orders of large passenger jets and business aircraft begin to translate into deliveries. That would be a real increase of 21.4% from 2005 and the highest sales level since 2001. AIA President/CEO John Douglass says he expects strong sales to continue into 2007 and 2008, driven by robust economic growth in Asia and what he predicts will be an improved outlook for money-losing U.S. legacy airlines, which so far have largely put off new aircraft purchases.”