With a rush of orders, aircraft manufacturers such as Boeing of the U.S. and Airbus of France are delaying deliveries. The short supply of new aircraft has driven up prices of used aircraft nearly to the level of new ones.

Korean budget carrier Jeju Air is slated to take delivery of a second-hand Boeing B737-800 jumbo jet from a foreign leasing company on Wednesday. The price Jeju has paid to remodel, repaint and replace the jet's engines and seats is about the same as buying a new aircraft. In fact the carrier recently signed a deal with Boeing to buy five new aircraft, but they won't be available until after 2011.

Boeing has been inundated with a rush of orders. In 2003 the company took orders for 240 aircraft. In 2005 that figured jumped to 1,037 and last year it hit 1,423, for a six-fold increase over four years. Airbus is also said to have received enough aircraft orders to last the next six years.

Airlines are also competing to buy next-generation aircraft. Korean Air is currently waiting for delivery of eight next-gen Airbus A380 jumbo jets, and has also placed an order for 10 next-gen Boeing B787 Dreamliners.

Asiana Airlines, meanwhile, has been weighing the A380 against the B787 for a year. It's expected to make a decision on the next-gen aircraft this month and release a long-term aircraft purchase plan.

Already suffering from rising fuel prices, domestic airlines' woes have been compounded by the weakening of the won currency against the dollar, which has driven up aircraft prices even higher.

(englishnews@chosun.com )