US air travel 'will not recover until 2004'

Boeing: To lose 1,000 jet orders because of the 11 September attacks

Air travel in the US may take three years to recover to levels seen before the 11 September terror attacks, the chief of aerospace giant Boeing has said.

Phil Condit, Boeing's chief executive, said that many Americans have "clearly decided they are not going to fly right now".

Their decision, based on factors other than economics, was unlikely to be reversed by price cuts, he told business leaders in Chicago.

"My guess is that travel in the US does not return to pre-September 11 levels for 28 to 42 months," he added.

Crisis period

The statement comes in a crisis period for airlines and aircraft makers, which have cut to staffing levels and timetables to offset a slump in passenger numbers on trans-continental routes since the terror strikes.

Air France on Tuesday became the latest airline to report an earnings fall, seeing profits slump to 72m euros (£44.9m; $63.5m) in the July to September quarter, 69% lower than in the same period last year.

Net income fell from 163m euros to 88m euros.

And chairman Jean-Cyril Spinetta warned that prospects were unlikely to improve dramatically in the near future.

"Today the industry is facing what is likely to be a prolonged crisis," Mr Spinetta said.

Also on Tuesday, Rakesh Gangwal, president and chief executive of US Airways, became the latest aviation boss to resign.

Mr Gangwal, president since 1996, has decided to leave to take a job "in the field of private equity and venture capital", a statement said.

The move follows the resignation less than a month ago of James Goodwin as chairman and chief executive of United Airlines.

Order book hit

Mr Condit reiterated Boeing's forecast that it would lose about 1,000 jet deliveries over the next "several" years.

The firm on Monday announced an additional 2,900 job cuts, taking its total in New York and Washington state since the 11 September attacks to 14,900.