I agree with PAXboy, what else are they going to do??
Boeing is running and screaming scared. Their output is at an all time low, the 747 line in grinding painfully to a halt (in terms of pax version sales) and according to their own websit they sold MINUS ONE 757 last year.
The 767 line is only being kept afloat by the defence tanker contract which I think we all know - was a dead-cert.
I fear Boeings lack of innovation over the last decade has left it in a very precarious position.
As for the 7E7....is this their Last, Best Hope for the future??
My opinion is that the 7E7 may well be the primarily produced civil Boeing model for the next 20 years. It looks very good on the books especially for the Charters looking for a replacement for the 767 and 757.
But so far as its huge family of aircraft.......well I fear that we will soon see a few deaths in said family.
The coughs can be heard from the 767(civil), 747(pax)already and even the Jeuvenile 777 seems to be under the weather re: future sales at the moment.
The decine in their large aircraft sales will probably result in Boeing turning to its defence contracts for its future.
I sincerely hope that Boeing continues to produce aircraft of quality for the civil market........
......But the writing is on the wall. The A380 flies in Jan 2005. No-one can deny that the A380 will be successful, if not immediately, then within 5-10 years. All the market indicators point to that very conclusion. The skies are not getting any clearer(traffic wise) and the airports are not getting any bigger - ultimately if AI is the only player offering a financially viable product (seat mile costs) then the financially accountable airlines will be buying them.
Possibly Sad but dissapointingly probable.....