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AIRSHOW-New Boeing commercial chief plays down Airbus threat

* Boeing sees ‘decent show’ in terms of Farnborough orders

* No drastic changes in strategy planned

By Karen Jacobs

FARNBOROUGH, England, July 8 (Reuters) – Boeing Co’s

new commercial planes chief on Sunday played down plans by rival

Airbus to open its first U.S. assembly line for single-aisle

planes, saying airline customers cared less about where planes

are built than about the value they offer.

“You win with the best products, the best value, the best

relationships,” Ray Conner told a media briefing in London a day

before the official start of the Farnborough Airshow.

Airbus, a unit of EADS, last week said it would

build an assembly line in Mobile, Alabama, that would produce

its A320 family planes. The European company said it was making

the move to position itself to win more business from American

carriers as they replace aging aircraft.

If airlines made purchase decisions based on where planes

were made, Conner said, Boeing would have 100 percent market

share in the United States instead of 80 percent.

“If Airbus can bring a better value proposition to the game,

then the U.S. airlines will take that into account,” Conner

added.

Conner, who was named to succeed Jim Albaugh as head of the

commercial planes unit late last month, said competition was no

more fierce today than it was 10 or 15 years ago. Boeing is

battling Airbus for the $100 billion-a-year aircraft market.

Conner, 57, joined Boeing in 1977 and worked his way up to

become head of sales. Albaugh, 62, who came to prominence at

Boeing’s defense operations, is to retire on Oct. 1 after 37

years with the company.

Though Albaugh’s retirement came as a surprise, Conner said

his predecessor had accomplished what he had set out to do as

head of commercial planes, including obtaining certification for

the 787 Dreamliner plane after years of delays and setbacks with

that program.

Conner said Boeing was expecting “a decent show” in terms of

orders at Farnborough. At last year’s Paris Air Show, Airbus

took the spotlight with hundreds of orders for its upcoming

A320neo aircraft that will be equipped with more fuel-efficient

engines. Boeing later announced it would launch the 737 MAX,

which will also have upgraded engines.

Conner said there would be no drastic changes in strategy at

the Boeing commercial segment under his tenure. He also said

there was no timetable in place in terms of decisions about the

company’s widebody aircraft strategy.