Boeing Taking Flight?

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It's been a tough few years for Boeing (NYSE: BA) shareholders. The sluggish economy hasn't exactly ushered in a big wave of plane orders, and competition with European rival Airbus has been intense.

But things are happening now for the company that recently relocated its headquarters from Seattle to Chicago -- some good things, some not-so-good things.

Among the good are several sizable new orders. For starters, Japan's JAL Group and Mitsubishi Corp. have ordered seven new Boeing 767-300ER airplanes, bringing their total order to a value of $850 million or so. Meanwhile, Greece is plunking down $675 million for 12 AH-64D attack helicopters. Woo-hoo!

That's not all, either. With our nation's defense program actively engaged in Iraq and elsewhere, defense spending is rather active. Boeing, for example, is currently competing for some $3 billion in contracts from the Navy -- as it competes with Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT), Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC), and L-3 Communications (NYSE: LLL), among others.

In the not-so-good department is an investigation into whether Boeing benefited from some insider info on Airbus pricing as it secured a massive $22.5 billion contract from the U.S. government. The deal involves the lease and eventual purchase of 100 Boeing 767 tankers, which has been criticized by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) as a bad deal for American taxpayers. Congressional hearings on the matter will begin soon.

One apparent drawback to the deal is that leasing the planes will cost more than just buying them outright. (Interestingly, this principle also applies to us small Fools who are getting new cars. Although it's often tempting to lease a vehicle, and leasing does make sense for some, it's frequently a better long-term financial move to just buy a new car -- or better yet, a used one.)

It's worth keeping up with these developments, whether you're already a shareholder or thinking about becoming one, to see if indeed Boeing's about to take flight.

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