Planemakers look to Asia
but credit crisis looms

SINGAPORE—A lack of major orders at the Singapore Airshow could point to a deeper than predicted cyclical downturn for planemakers already smarting from delivery delays on new aircraft.

Manufacturers expect fewer orders in 2008, as the industry comes off a record year for sales and enters a period of ramped up production. Airbus said on Wednesday that its orders would halve to around 700 from a record 1,341 orders last year.

Boeing does not give forecasts, but said it expects orders to exceed the 475-480 planes it is targeting to deliver to customers this year.

But demand for new aircraft could be hit more than the Europe-based Airbus and US rival Boeing expect, as a growing global credit crisis curbs airlines’ ability to finance purchases, and causes a drop in premium and business travel.

"Just like in the home mortgage sector, airlines need to put more equity into financing aircrafts. This will have a cash strain on the airline industry," International Lease Finance Corp chief executive Steven Udvar-Hazy said in Singapore.

That might make airlines more cautious on increasing capacity by ordering new planes, said Udvar-Hazy, who runs the world’s top plane leasing firm.

Airlines ordered slightly over $10 billion worth of planes at the Singapore Airshow, a far cry from the $100 billion in orders booked at the Dubai air show last year.

Analysts had earlier expected $15-20 billion in orders, including major contracts placed by airlines from India and China, as they boost their fleets to meet booming domestic travel.

Air traffic growth in India and China is expected to grow at more than 11 percent a year for the next three years, nearly three times the rate in the United States and double Europe.

Top aircraft maker Boeing expects total plane orders from the Asia Pacific to reach 8,350 in the next 20 years, out of the 28,600 planes needed worldwide.

Of these, nearly 2,000 will go to Southeast Asia and more than 1,000 to Southwest Asia — mainly to India, Boeing senior vice president for sales Dinesh Keskar said in a presentation at the airshow.