In the past decade, the world rotorcraft market has been hit by the downturn in military spending. The military side makes up the overwhelming majority of this market, and like other military segments, procurement has fallen as new systems are delayed and armed forces coast on existing inventories.

Competitive tensions between Airbus and Boeing are truly at a new high point following Airbus Industrie's late-December decision to launch its A380 (formerly A3XX) mega-transport. This means Airbus and Boeing now have intense competitions going at every level of the jetliner spectrum. It also means the manufacturers have two fundamentally different philosophies of how the air transport market will develop in the coming years. JUMBO VERSUS MINI JUMBO

Business jet deliveries in 2000 have hit an astonishing all-time high of more than 700 jets worth more than $10 billion. For the first time, the business jet market is larger than the global market for combat aircraft. The market has been transformed, and fears of a market bubble have been assuaged. The only question concerns whether the market has hit a new plateau, or if it will grow further still. A SUDDEN GROWTH SPURT