????噴氣式飛機制造商空中客車（Airbus）的母公司歐洲宇航防務集團（EADS）近年來加大了與宿敵波音公司（Boeing）的競爭力度，使兩大飛機制造業巨頭之間錯綜復雜的戰爭提升到了一個新階段。據消息人士透露，EADS將在美國南部阿拉巴馬州的莫比爾市興建一個新工廠。這也將是空客在西半球開設的第一個工廠，此舉或將威脅波音對美國噴氣機市場的統治地位。

????雖然這家工廠一開始將主要承擔空客最新的A320單通道飛機的生產任務，但未來EADS也有利用該廠生產軍用飛機的可能，屆時它將成為波音公司的噩夢。因為EADS可以輕易地對該工廠進行擴展或改裝，使它可以支持EADS日益增長的防衛業務，比如用來生產歐洲直升機公司（Eurocopter）的攻擊直升機，或是先進的噴氣式戰斗機和支援飛機等。隨著北美工廠的建立運營，再加上EADS已經在美國招聘了數千名工人，EADS很可能從波音公司搶走一大筆利潤可觀的軍事合同，使波音與空客在全球飛機市場的競爭更加利益攸關。

????波音和空客的單通道飛機市場大戰已經打了一年多了，兩家都在努力爭搶新客戶，這些新客戶想要的則是更新、更節省燃油的機型。雖然單通道飛機市場的新聞很難在媒體上成為頭條，但它對于兩家公司的商用航空部門來說卻是最大的利潤中心。因此盡管空客的A380巨無霸飛機和充滿未來主義風格的波音787飛機也十分重要，但波音和空客并不指望它們最主要的搖錢樹。去年波音737單通道飛機大約為波音民用航空事業部貢獻了40%的收入，利潤則超過了該部門總利潤的一半。

????據波音公司估算，未來20年，單通道飛機市場的價值可能將達到近2萬億美金。市場需求主要來自亞洲，這也就是為什么波音和空客都宣布將在中國投資建設民用飛機制造廠。無論是對于波音還是對于空客，亞洲的工廠都將是他們在各自的主要市場之外開設的第一批民用飛機制造設施。

????盡管亞洲市場增長迅速，但世界上擁有最多民航飛機的國家還是美國。美國的航空公司已經持續多年投資不足，這意味著它們現在都急需更新設備，因此美國也成了繼亞洲之后的第二大噴氣式飛機市場。

????波音在美國市場仍占有一定的優勢地位，不過空客也正在緩慢地攫取市場份額。去年波音遭受了一次重大打擊，幾十年來一直只使用波音飛機的美國航空公司（American Airlines）突然宣布將從空客訂購260架A320單通道飛機。未來波音的情況可能會更糟，去年剛剛收購了大陸航空公司（Continental Airlines）的美國聯合航空公司（United Airlines）有望在下月的倫敦范堡羅國際航展（Farnborough Airshow）上訂購100架單通道飛機。據傳空客有可能通過這筆訂單攫取到更多的市場份額。

????難怪空客想在美國建立一個新工廠。據報道，這家工廠每月將可生產4至6架單通道飛機。要完成美國航空公司的260架訂單，以及美聯航的100架訂單，大概需要5年到7年半的時間。此外，其他航空公司也有可能向空客拋來橄欖枝，比如全美航空公司（US Airways）本來就大量使用空客的飛機，如果它繼續下單的話，那么空客的美國工廠在未來十年里都不會閑著。

????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.