BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Executives from planemakers Airbus (PA:AIR) and Boeing (N:BA) said on Tuesday that it was too early to say whether the outbreak of a new coronavirus would affect demand for aircraft.
Christian Scherer, chief commercial officer of Airbus (PA:AIR), told an industry conference in Brussels that the coronavirus could cause an adjustment to demand for aircraft but it would not be large-scale.
"The violent cyclicality seen in the 1980s is no longer there," Scherer said. Ihssane Mounir, senior vice-president, commercial sales and market at Boeing Commercial Airplanes (N:BA) said that coronavirus had put discussions with Chinese customers on hold.