????噴氣式飛機(jī)制造商空中客車(chē)（Airbus）的母公司歐洲宇航防務(wù)集團(tuán)（EADS）近年來(lái)加大了與宿敵波音公司（Boeing）的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)力度，使兩大飛機(jī)制造業(yè)巨頭之間錯(cuò)綜復(fù)雜的戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)提升到了一個(gè)新階段。據(jù)消息人士透露，EADS將在美國(guó)南部阿拉巴馬州的莫比爾市興建一個(gè)新工廠。這也將是空客在西半球開(kāi)設(shè)的第一個(gè)工廠，此舉或?qū)⑼{波音對(duì)美國(guó)噴氣機(jī)市場(chǎng)的統(tǒng)治地位。

????雖然這家工廠一開(kāi)始將主要承擔(dān)空客最新的A320單通道飛機(jī)的生產(chǎn)任務(wù)，但未來(lái)EADS也有利用該廠生產(chǎn)軍用飛機(jī)的可能，屆時(shí)它將成為波音公司的噩夢(mèng)。因?yàn)镋ADS可以輕易地對(duì)該工廠進(jìn)行擴(kuò)展或改裝，使它可以支持EADS日益增長(zhǎng)的防衛(wèi)業(yè)務(wù)，比如用來(lái)生產(chǎn)歐洲直升機(jī)公司（Eurocopter）的攻擊直升機(jī)，或是先進(jìn)的噴氣式戰(zhàn)斗機(jī)和支援飛機(jī)等。隨著北美工廠的建立運(yùn)營(yíng)，再加上EADS已經(jīng)在美國(guó)招聘了數(shù)千名工人，EADS很可能從波音公司搶走一大筆利潤(rùn)可觀的軍事合同，使波音與空客在全球飛機(jī)市場(chǎng)的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)更加利益攸關(guān)。

????波音和空客的單通道飛機(jī)市場(chǎng)大戰(zhàn)已經(jīng)打了一年多了，兩家都在努力爭(zhēng)搶新客戶，這些新客戶想要的則是更新、更節(jié)省燃油的機(jī)型。雖然單通道飛機(jī)市場(chǎng)的新聞很難在媒體上成為頭條，但它對(duì)于兩家公司的商用航空部門(mén)來(lái)說(shuō)卻是最大的利潤(rùn)中心。因此盡管空客的A380巨無(wú)霸飛機(jī)和充滿未來(lái)主義風(fēng)格的波音787飛機(jī)也十分重要，但波音和空客并不指望它們最主要的搖錢(qián)樹(shù)。去年波音737單通道飛機(jī)大約為波音民用航空事業(yè)部貢獻(xiàn)了40%的收入，利潤(rùn)則超過(guò)了該部門(mén)總利潤(rùn)的一半。

????據(jù)波音公司估算，未來(lái)20年，單通道飛機(jī)市場(chǎng)的價(jià)值可能將達(dá)到近2萬(wàn)億美金。市場(chǎng)需求主要來(lái)自亞洲，這也就是為什么波音和空客都宣布將在中國(guó)投資建設(shè)民用飛機(jī)制造廠。無(wú)論是對(duì)于波音還是對(duì)于空客，亞洲的工廠都將是他們?cè)诟髯缘闹饕袌?chǎng)之外開(kāi)設(shè)的第一批民用飛機(jī)制造設(shè)施。

????盡管亞洲市場(chǎng)增長(zhǎng)迅速，但世界上擁有最多民航飛機(jī)的國(guó)家還是美國(guó)。美國(guó)的航空公司已經(jīng)持續(xù)多年投資不足，這意味著它們現(xiàn)在都急需更新設(shè)備，因此美國(guó)也成了繼亞洲之后的第二大噴氣式飛機(jī)市場(chǎng)。

????波音在美國(guó)市場(chǎng)仍占有一定的優(yōu)勢(shì)地位，不過(guò)空客也正在緩慢地攫取市場(chǎng)份額。去年波音遭受了一次重大打擊，幾十年來(lái)一直只使用波音飛機(jī)的美國(guó)航空公司（American Airlines）突然宣布將從空客訂購(gòu)260架A320單通道飛機(jī)。未來(lái)波音的情況可能會(huì)更糟，去年剛剛收購(gòu)了大陸航空公司（Continental Airlines）的美國(guó)聯(lián)合航空公司（United Airlines）有望在下月的倫敦范堡羅國(guó)際航展（Farnborough Airshow）上訂購(gòu)100架單通道飛機(jī)。據(jù)傳空客有可能通過(guò)這筆訂單攫取到更多的市場(chǎng)份額。

????難怪空客想在美國(guó)建立一個(gè)新工廠。據(jù)報(bào)道，這家工廠每月將可生產(chǎn)4至6架單通道飛機(jī)。要完成美國(guó)航空公司的260架訂單，以及美聯(lián)航的100架訂單，大概需要5年到7年半的時(shí)間。此外，其他航空公司也有可能向空客拋來(lái)橄欖枝，比如全美航空公司（US Airways）本來(lái)就大量使用空客的飛機(jī)，如果它繼續(xù)下單的話，那么空客的美國(guó)工廠在未來(lái)十年里都不會(huì)閑著。

????EADS, the parent company of jet maker Airbus, has upped the ante in its long-running blood feud with Boeing, setting the stage for a messy battle between the two aerospace giants. According to a person with knowledge of the matter, the European conglomerate is set to announce the construction of a new manufacturing facility for its Airbus aircraft in the heart of Dixie -- Mobile, Alabama. It would be Airbus's first manufacturing plant in the western hemisphere, threatening Boeing's grip over the US jet market.

????But while the facility will be at first tuned to construct Airbus's new A320 single-aisle aircraft, the potential for EADS to also use the facility to manufacture military equipment could end up becoming a nightmare for Boeing (BA). EADS could easily expand or convert the future plant to support its growing defense businesses, like its popular Eurocopter attack helicopters or its cutting-edge jet fighters and support aircraft. With a facility up and running in the US and already staffed with thousands of American workers, EADS could nab quite a few lucrative military contracts away from Boeing, raising the stakes in the global aerospace wars.

????The battle for the single-aisle jet market has raged for over a year now with both Boeing and Airbus competing fiercely for new customers wanting newer and more fuel-efficient models. While the single-aisle jet market hardly grabs headlines, it is actually the biggest profit center for the two companies' commercial aviation divisions. So while Airbus' superjumbo A380 and Boeing's futuristic 787 are important, the truth is, they aren't the big money makers. For example, Boeing's single-aisle 737 aircraft accounts for around 40% of the US aerospace giant's commercial aviation revenue and well over half the division's profits last year.

????Boeing estimates that the single-aisle market could be worth nearly $2 trillion over the next 20 years. The majority of that demand is expected to come from Asia, which is why both Boeing and Airbus have announced plans to construct new commercial aircraft manufacturing plants in China. For both companies, the Asian plants would be their first commercial aircraft manufacturing facilities to be located outside their respective home markets.

????But while Asia is a rapidly growing market, the US is still home to the largest commercial aviation fleet in the world. Years of underinvestment by US airlines means that they are in dire need of new equipment, making the US the second largest market for new jet aircraft behind Asia.

????Boeing aircraft still has the upper hand in the US market, but Airbus has been slowly taking market share. Boeing sustained a big hit last year when American Airlines, which had maintained a Boeing-only fleet for decades, announced it was ordering 260 new single-aisle A320s from Airbus. It could soon get worse. United Airlines (UAL), which absorbed Continental Airlines last year, is expected to announce a new order for 100 single-aisle aircraft at the Farnborough airshow in the United Kingdom next month. There is talk that Airbus could snatch even more market share in that deal.

????It is no wonder that Airbus would want to then create a new production facility in the US. With the facility scheduled to reportedly pump out four to six new single-aisle jets a month, it could construct American's 260 and the United's potential 100 aircraft orders in five to seven-and-a half years. New orders from other airlines, like US Airways, which already extensively uses Airbus aircraft, could keep the plant humming for a decade or more.