Chinese airlines show little sign of heeding the civil aviation administration’s call for them to cancel or defer 2009 aircraft deliveries. The industry seems more likely to trim capacity by retiring old aircraft and by declining to renew leases. Both measures were also part of a policy that the administration issued this month to reign in overcapacity in the industry, but since both are only normal airline responses to weak demand it seems that the high-profile announcement will have little influence on fleet sizes.

IHI Corp. will offer an independently developed regional jet turbofan in the next decade, according to plans that envisage Japan following China in trying to break into the civil aero-engine market. After decades of developing expertise in major components of U.S. and British engines, the Japanese manufacturer is pushing to get into the front rank of an industry that has always been dominated by Western companies.

The Royal Australian Air Force is intensifying its lobbying for an order of 100 Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightnings, a number that has received official endorsement but could be scaled back next year. An initial Australian order is expected after the release of a defense white paper in 2009. The choice of the F-35 as Australia’s next fighter is defended by the chief of the air force, Air Marshal Mark Binskin. He argues it will be part of an integrated airpower system on which the country could not improve.