CHICAGO, Feb. 13 (Reuters) – Boeing Co. is seeing improved demand for commercial airplanes and fewer deferral requests as the airline industry claws its way out of an economic downturn, the company's chief executive said.

Speaking at an aerospace and defense conference, Jim McNerney said the economy is showing signs of improvement that will lead to airplane orders.

''We have a rebound in our plans over the next couple of years,'' McNerney said in comments monitored via a webcast of the event.

Goodrich Corp. and General Dynamics Corp. were other aerospace companies that cited improving commercial aircraft market conditions at the two-day Cowen & Co. conference.

Boeing and its top rival, Airbus , were dogged in 2009 by fewer orders for airplanes as carriers around the world grappled with falling travel demand in the sagging economy.

Boeing said in January that orders fell 61 percent to 263 commercial airplanes in 2009, as air travel and freight transport slumped.

Meanwhile, Boeing's defense unit struggled with sweeping government budget cuts.

McNerney said the company feels ''very good'' about current production rates for its popular 737 planes and even left open the possibility for a production rate increase.

Some experts have questioned whether the current rate of 31 per months is too high given the economic troubles faced by airlines around the world.

''You could say there's room for an upward move,'' McNerney said, quickly adding he is not necessarily predicting that. ''If people order more planes, we will increase the rate.''