Jet makers Airbus and Boeing have said they see signs of recovery in an airline industry pummelled by poor economic growth, the war in Iraq and the SARS virus.
As the 45th Paris Air Show began yesterday, Airbus chief executive Mr Noel Forgeard raised his forecast for jet orders this year and stuck with a key goal to deliver 300 planes in 2003.
Airbus now looks sure to beat US rival Boeing in annual deliveries for the first time in over a quarter century of fierce competition.
"We are realistic about the current economic environment, but we are also optimistic," Mr Forgeard said. "The market is better than we expected and our market share has increased much more than we anticipated".
Although air passenger traffic has shown signs of recovering from an extremely weak level, analysts remain sceptical about the prospects for a strong airline recovery in the near term.