=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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/2003/12/08/f= inancial0854EST0017.DTL ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Monday, December 8, 2003 (AP) Airbus, Boeing argue merits of next generation of planes RAWYA RAGEH, Associated Press Writer (12-08) 06:06 PST DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- Airbus boasted here Monday that it is outselling its American rival Boei= ng Co., crowning itself as "the world's leading supplier" of commercial jets. Not surprisingly, Boeing disagreed, as the two companies traded claims at the Dubai Air Show, one of the world's largest aerospace exhibitions. The Airbus vice president for market forecasts, Adam Brown, told reporte= rs at the air show that his company had 55 percent of the market against 45 percent for Boeing Co. -- selling 47 more aircraft since the beginning of the year with a value of $29.5 billion. Brown said such figures make Airbus "the world's leading supplier," a status that the company said it achieved through technology and close consultation with airlines. Airbus, based in the French city of Toulouse, says it has sold 4,854 aircraft to 186 companies since its inception in 1970. But Chicago-based Boeing Co. does not seem shaken. "There is no question this year they will be delivering a few more aircraft than us, but we are not concerned about one downturn year," Boeing's Marketing Vice President Randy Baseler told The Associated Press. Promoting the 555-A380, marketed as the world's largest aircraft, Airbus said Monday its new carrier is the future of airline growth. The 555-seat plane, designed to fly nonstop for long hours, is scheduled for its first flight in 2005, with deliveries set to begin in early 2006. There have been 129 orders for the craft from 11 countries, including Dubai-based Emirates airline and Doha-based Qatar Airways. "Based on our experience we see nothing on the horizon which can cost-effectively supersede the aircraft we offer today," Brown said. In its separate press conference, Boeing expressed skepticism about Airbus' market forecasts, saying airlines usually handle growth in air travel by increasing frequencies and nonstop flights, not plane sizes. Boeing also says the A380' size would require airport adjustments and changes in the way airlines do business. Baseler said that the future is for smaller jets. "On the global scale, we see market fragmentation -- or 'point-to-point' operations_ continuing, which means airlines will rely more and more on smaller airplanes," he said. Baseler said this is why Boeing believes the future of their 250-seat 7E7 Dreamliner, which is planned for 2008, is promising. Brown said Boeing seems to be "in a parallel universe," adding that the A380 has had "the biggest market response to any jet" in numbers of orders. Dubai's air show opened Sunday, attracting 550 aviation-related companies from 360 countries. On the Net: Airbus: www.airbus.com Boeing Co.: www.boeing.com Air Show: www.dubaiairshow.com =20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2003 AP