PAUL LEWIS / WASHINGTON DC
Major US defence aerospace companies are taking their lead from the Department of Defense and ramping down corporate executive participation at the Paris air show in June, because of the continuing political fallout from France's opposition to the US-led war against Iraq.
The Pentagon's decision to limit attendance at the event to officers no more senior than US Army and Air Force colonels and US Navy captains has led many companies to reconsider the level of their representation (Flight International, 22-28 April).
"The question is being asked why we would send top executives to Paris to meet colonels and below," says one company source.
It is understood neither Boeing's chairman and chief executive Phil Condit nor chief financial officer Mike Sears will attend this year's show, leaving the heads of integrated defence systems and commercial airplanes, Jim Albaugh and Alan Mulally respectively, leading the company's presence.
Raytheon's new chief executive, Bill Swanson, is also undecided, says the company, which adds that its attendance "will be smaller than in previous years". Among the few US aircraft on display will be the Raytheon T-6 Texan II, which the company says it will take on its own. The DoD has limited its contribution to six mainly legacy aircraft in the static display.
Lockheed Martin has denied rumours that its chairman, Vance Coffman, will be absent, but confirms that attendance will be limited to 130 people, down from 450 in 1997.
Northrop Grumman has confirmed that its new chairman, Ronald Sugar, will be at the show as well as the heads of five of of its seven core business sectors.
Source: Flight International