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Boeing sees deep financial crisis hurting airlines

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The Asian economic crisis is deepening, with real recovery to previous levels not likely for at least five to six years, according to the world's largest commercial aircraft-maker, Boeing.

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Boeing China president Ray Bracy said the aircraft-maker - which planned to slash 20,000 jobs around the world - was moving forward on the assumption the economic situation would get much worse before getting better.

'Airline traffic has evaporated in many Asian markets. There is a clear correlation between airplane order and economic growth,' Mr Bracy said yesterday.

'While people are prospering, they take holidays, go on trips, and seats get taken up - this moves carriers to order more planes.

'The cycle usually takes about five years to go from beginning to end, so that when deliveries take place, the economy is usually at its worst state,' he said.

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'Look at the situation now. Last year was the peak in the order cycle, so what is looming is the peak of the airplane delivery cycle,' he said, adding that 'demand was pretty much used up'.

'The economic recession is real and is actually broadening and deepening.

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