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Thursday, December 11, 2003
Bad year for airlines, but it could have been worse
Industry spokesman sees better days ahead
By CHARLES POPE
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT
"The surprising news is that the slump is not nearly as sharp as predicted a year ago and not as deep as we expected a decade ago," Douglass said, adding that industry economists predict a full recovery by 2006 and increased sales and employment by the end of the decade.

The outlook for next year, he said, was basically flat, with overall sales increasing by $1 billion to $148 billion.

By the end of 2006, the association's economists project, total aerospace sales will reach $157.3 billion, surpassing the totals achieved during the boom times in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

The extended forecast, he said, predicts a return to growth by 2006 as defense spending is increased and as airlines begin to post profits and purchase new airplanes.