By Ted = Reed<http://apps.thestreet.com/cms/email/tscEmailStory.do?storyId=3D10324= 991&authorId=3D1101023&storyUrl=3D/newsanalysis/transportation/10324991.h= tml> TheStreet.com Staff Reporter Boeing in the Catbird Seat Not only is the company's stock soaring and its order book full, it now = finds itself in an opportune position as chairman of the creditors' = committee for bankrupt Delta Air Lines the creditors' committee will = likely make the ultimate decision on the airline's future.=20 For Boeing, "It's Monty Hall and 'Let's Make a Deal,'" said Scott = Hamilton, who publishes an online newsletter about Airbus and Boeing. = For the longer term, if US Airways succeeds in acquiring Delta through a = hostile takeover, a round of aircraft buying could result, further = benefiting Boeing as well as rival Airbus.=20 In the US Airways bankruptcy that preceded a 2005 merger with America = West Airlines, Airbus was chairman of the creditors' committee. As part = of its effort to gain creditor support for the deal and to get a $250 = million loan from Airbus, America West placed an order for 20 of Airbus' = A350s.=20 But that was then. The new US Airways could cancel the A350 order, given = the unanticipated delay in filling it, and commit to buying new Boeing = aircraft in an effort to gain support for a Delta takeover, Hamilton = said.=20 Boeing Capital, a Boeing subsidiary that arranges financing for aircraft = orders, holds $81 million in Delta equipment trust certificates, secured = by aircraft, said spokeswoman Donna Mikov. Additionally, the unit holds = a claim based on unfilled orders for 57 of its 737-800s and five = extended-range 777-200s. Mikov declined to provide a value for the = aircraft order. I think Boeing's inclination will be to favor whoever = can give them the highest number of airplane orders going forward," = Hamilton said. "I think it will be a cold, hard business decision."=20 US Airways has a mainline fleet of 359 aircraft, including 196 Airbus = narrowbodies from the A320 family as well as nine A330s. Nevertheless, = US Airways executives have made the case that they are not bound to = Airbus.=20 "I wouldn't characterize us as being in the Airbus camp today," said = President Scott Kirby, during the Nov. 15 analyst conference following = the announcement of the takeover bid. "We have a number of the 737s and = 757s and in fact are working with Boeing, and they've been extremely = helpful in working with us on a replacement aircraft order."=20 Going forward, airline industry consolidation could trigger more = aircraft buying, said aviation analyst Richard Aboulafia of the Teal = Group. "The U.S. market is the biggest in the world, and it has been = asleep in the current aircraft buying cycle," he said. "Anything that = gets them back into shape helps the manufacturers."=20 Aboulafia said that anyone investing in airlines is likely to envision = the purchase of new aircraft as a way to increase operating efficiency. = "The financiers behind these deals are likely to enable fleet spending," = he said.=20 If the merger occurs, the combined Delta-US Airways fleet would contain = 231 aging 737s from the 200 and 300 series, as well as the McDonnell = Douglas planes. "Neither manufacturer can alone offer the merged = carriers particularly timely replacement," Hamilton wrote in a recent = report that suggested both aircraft manufacturers could benefit from a = deal.=20