The latest from the Evil Empire... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SF Gate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/news/archive/2002/05/06/f= inancial1027EDT0049.DTL ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Monday, May 6, 2002 (AP) Airbus optimistic on air travel recovery, sticks to sales targets despite u= ncertainty STEPHEN W. GRAHAM, Associated Press Writer (05-06) 07:27 PDT BERLIN (AP) -- European aircraft maker Airbus said Monday it has delivered 103 new plan= es this year and may ease back production cuts as the air travel industry recovers from the Sept. 11 terror attacks With 103 aircraft handed over to customers by the end of April, chief executive Noel Forgeard said he was optimistic the company would meet its target of delivering 300 new planes this year and the same number in 2003. It delivered 325 planes in 2001. New business with airlines such as Swiss and Cathay Pacific has lifted Airbus' order book to about 1,500 planes and signals "renewed confidence" among carriers, Forgeard told a news conference at the ILA airshow near Berlin. "This presages a future upturn ... though many airlines are still in the recovery phase," he added. "The recession is clearly not over yet." Airlines and their suppliers have axed thousands of jobs since the Sept. 11 attacks turned many travelers off flying and undermined economic confidence. The industry has probably lost one year's growth, but the slump will prove less painful than the downturn after the Gulf War, Forgeard said. "This time there has been much lower oversupply of the market at the pea= k, so the trough will be shorter and less deep," he said. Airbus, the only serious rival to Boeing Co. of the United States for big commercial jets, claims to have won market share and ridden the downturn well. Forgeard said it was "quite possible" plans to idle factories for between three and 11 days this year to trim production could be reduced. "Next year is probably stronger than we expected," he said. Airbus stuck to its forecasts despite uncertainty over the consequences = of a merger being discussed by budget carriers Easyjet and Go, a former subsidiary of British Airways. Airbus, which is trying to break Boeing's domination of the European discount airline market, was negotiating a deal for 75 aircraft with Go, said sales chief John Leahy. "If they become one company we are hopeful that they'll still select Airbus," Leahy said, adding that Airbus was in talks with both budget airlines. Airbus, set up as an independent company last summer by European aerospa= ce company EADS and BAE Systems of Britain, also said its A380 superjumbo jet is on track for delivery in 2006. It is also developing a military transport plane to be delivered to several European countries in 2008. =20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2002 AP