All I can say is, you just never can predict what's going to happen in this business. If you'd told me that Boeing would have ended the week with orders and commitments for nearly 150 airplanes, I wouldn't have believed you. But that's what happened.

And so I want to return to what I've said before. The timing of order announcements is up to our customers. They announce when and where they choose. Boeing doesn't stockpile orders and save them up for air shows. It just so happened that the timing and the orders all came together these past several days.

In fact, a big order coming in for Boeing on Wednesday didn't even come out of the Air Show: Alaska Airlines' order for 35 Next Generation 737s. That order would be big news any time of the year, as the single-aisle 737 continues to reign as our best-seller.

With more and more airlines making the 777 their twin-aisle of choice, you couldn't have asked for a more appropriate backdrop at Le Bourget than our 777-200LR Worldliner.

And we're also pleased by the demand for our twin-aisles - the 787, 777, and even the 767. These airplanes deliver more of the nonstop service passengers want. Successful airlines know it's all about the passengers.

Orders and commitments for 38 Boeing 777s were announced this week, with the emphasis on the 777-300ER. That's the largest 777, capable of taking 365 passengers and cargo from Paris to Los Angeles or Newark to Hong Kong. The 777-200LR, the world's longest range airplane, can connect almost any two cities in the world, even loaded with passengers and cargo.

I'm heading back home today. And I just realized that even though I've been in Europe for more than a week, I barely saw anything of London or Paris beyond the confines of buses and taxis.

On scene at the Air Show, presenting one of a dizzying series of media briefings.

On the bus back to Paris after yet another crazy day at the Air Show I was really trying to think of something pithy to say to wrap things up. I'm sure I'll have a lot more to say later, back in Seattle, when I get a chance to reflect on the week. But at the moment my mind is mush. And so are my feet.

Whoever said these shows slow down at mid-week should have been here. It was a flat-out race to the finish. I learned the many ways my colleagues can change a schedule. As a result, I must have walked several miles between meetings and interviews, nearly wearing out my shoes in the process.

Then, after all that, as I left the Air Show, I was reminded again how maddening the traffic leaving Le Bourget can be. And ultimately, all you really can do at the end of the week is congratulate yourself for just surviving it all.