text: Global slowdown fears overshadow Singapore aviation show - Times of Oman
  Business Sunday 14/February/2016 19:07 PM
  Singapore: Aerospace leaders gathering for this week's Singapore Airshow face conflicting pressures as they juggle growing concerns over jetliner demand while keeping record production plans on track.
  For now, airline traffic continues to grow rapidly, spurred by continued growth in Asian household incomes, while airline profits also benefit from low oil prices. But as aerospace industry shares fall in step with tumbling global markets, analysts increasingly question the durability of an aerospace expansion cycle now in an unprecedented eighth year.
  "We will be keeping a close eye on traffic this year to see if we can detect emerging signs of weakness," said Rob Morris, head of consultancy at UK-based Flightglobal Ascend. Doubts over economic conditions have not stopped Airbus and Boeing pursuing a battle of wits over new designs.
  Boeing has said it will decide soon on a potential new 'mid-market' jet with about 240 seats to retrieve lost market share for relatively small jets — a project that could lead to a small twin-aisle jet with an unusual, oval-shaped cross-section.
  Defence remains at the forefront of the Singapore show, amid growing tensions over Chinese maritime and territorial claims that compete with those of several Southeast Asian nations. A number of regional states are looking into ways to beef up their fighter fleets and to boost their intelligence gathering, surveillance and reconnaissance capability.