Boeing chief upbeat despite tough market

[SINGAPORE] Planemaker Boeing continues to see a strong market, one underpinned by robust replacement demand and traffic growth, despite a recent spate of order cancellations in the aviation industry and a challenging operating environment for airlines.

Its chief operating officer Dennis Muilenburg said: "We actually see cancellations and deferrals well below historic levels right now across our Boeing portfolio."

Cancellations for the world's biggest plane-maker have hovered in the range of 3 to 5 per cent a year.