Boeing says it can beat fuel price storm

CHICAGO, June 2 (UPI) -- A Boeing Co. executive in Turkey said Monday the company can withstand the near-term effects of fuel-cost escalations that have rattled the airline industry.

Speaking at an International Air Transport Association event in Istanbul, Scott Carson, Boeing's president and chief executive of commercial airplanes, said, "We are seeing no adverse impact, but we are concerned about the condition of the airlines," the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported.

Both Boeing and Airbus have posted company records in new orders since 2005, the report said.

But, some airlines have delayed orders in the wake of jet fuel costs that have are expected to rise more than 60 percent this year.

Orlando Fla.'s AirTran and Boeing recently agreed to set back delivery of 18 737-700s for five years, the report said.

Chief economist for the Air Transport Association, John Heimlich, said the fuel cost issue was the "worst crisis" to hit the industry since the September 2001 terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington.

Others agree.

"This downturn has the potential to be orders of magnitude worse than it was after 9/11, and more pervasive," the chairman of the Center for Asia Pacific Aviation, Chris Tarry, was quoted as telling Airline Business Daily.