One region where International Aero Engines has been particularly successful is Asia, now mired in recession. But IAE president and CEO Barry Eccleston does not consider IAE to be unduly exposed to the economic downturn there. Cutbacks in air travel are hitting widebody airliners much harder than the narrowbody A320s the V2500 powers, he pointed out.

Airbus counts 186 A320-family aircraft sold into Asia, of which 142 are V2500 powered. Some 135 have been delivered to date, 91 of which have IAE engines. So Eccleston's maximum exposure is 51 V2500-powered aircraft. "Forty percent of those will go to China," Eccleston said, "where there has been less economic impact.

"To date only one customer-Asiana-has sought to defer some aircraft, and only one prospective customer has pulled back, but even there the contracts had not been signed," he said.