Tsunami relief thanks

I was born in Sri Lanka and moved to the United States in 1985. I'd like to offer my humble thank you for the generous donation that our company has given toward tsunami relief efforts. People in Sri Lanka need help, and your kind contributions will be well appreciated. There are some areas where children, whole families and, in some places, whole communities were affected. Our families were so fortunate to not be stricken by this disaster. Organizations such as CARE USA and the American Red Cross are helping as much as they can.

As a Boeing employee, I am so proud of our company's prompt reaction to this global disaster.

-Jay Jayatilake, Canoga Park, Calif.

About supporting supporters

In reply to the letter about supporting "Boeing supporters" (November 2004): The proposal that Boeing only deal with companies that buy Boeing or fly Boeing is in itself counter to making the company competitive. How far do you go, stop ordering in aluminum from a company that has an Airbus/Bombardier/Embraer company jet? Any industry in today's free market will go to where the perceived best value is. It's a business fundamental.

This type of view is what makes a company complacent and leads to the ascendancy of competitors. Talk of using "our clout" to exact these changes is a defensive response to an issue that requires broader analysis and a proactive approach to regaining the market lead.

This is exactly what The Boeing Company is trying to do with the 7E7 airplane by looking to the future and controlling its own destiny rather than glancing across the Atlantic Ocean.

- Paul Gribben, Melbourne, Australia

Competition rules

The recent peace gestures between Boeing and Airbus, which will apparently avoid a World Trade Organization battle, is a sure sign of relief-for Airbus, that is. Despite the vast amounts of guaranteed, optionally payable loans Airbus receives, and the huge market share these loans have helped spawn, our European "friends" have continued to lob rhetorical ordnance Boeing's way.

For Boeing's part, we've politely responded with the facts of the dispute. Essentially, that we've played by the rules in good faith and Airbus hasn't. Prior to Boeing backing off of its valid World Trade Organization assertions, the fury of Airbus's negative media blitz clearly showed that Boeing was on the correct flight path. The WTO case Boeing has is clear and overwhelming. By suddenly being timid of our own WTO action, we're showing the world and Airbus drifting priorities. Boeing's priority should be to honestly and aggressively compete for customers and market share. It's certain that any time Boeing does something our competition likes, it's going to equate to fewer profits and a smaller global footprint.

The winner of the Airbus-Boeing duel will be the one that not only has the best business and political strategy, it will be the one that knows its competition as well or better than it knows itself.

Boeing should compete with Airbus using all of the resources it can muster. With the direct support of numerous European governments behind it, Airbus is fully aware of its resources and won't be shy in leveraging them.

- Louis Rivoli, St. Louis

Corrections and clarifications

• Col. John Vaughn, project manager for the U.S. Army Lower Tier Air & Missile Defense, was inadvertently cropped from the photo on page 36 of the December 2004/January 2005 Boeing Frontiers. The photo appears here in its entirety; Vaughn is at the far left.

• Because of a production error, the last paragraph of "New buzz in the Hornet family" (December 2004/January 2005 issue, Pages 32 and 33) was truncated. The paragraph should read, "The Prowler, a four-crew aircraft first deployed in 1972, is nearing the end of its service life. The EA-18G will begin replacing it in the fleet by 2009."

Letters guidelines

Boeing Frontiers provides its letters page for readers to state their opinions. The page is intended to encourage an exchange of ideas and information that stimulates dialogue on issues or events in the company or the aerospace industry. The opinions may not necessarily reflect those of The Boeing Company. Letters must include name, organization and a telephone number for verification purposes. Letters may be edited for grammar, syntax and size.