The American Boeing, together with its European competitor Airbus, has had an iron grip on the passenger aircraft market for decades. The aircraft manufacturers together have a market share of more than 90 percent. But the balance of power between the two titans has been tilting for years, due to the problems at Boeing.
These started five years ago, due to the crash of two Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft. A total of 346 people were killed, after which the 387 similar aircraft were grounded. The crashes turned out to be caused by a broken sensor.
About the author
Ashwant Nandram is an economics reporter for de Volkskrant. He writes about aviation and railways, among other things.
At the beginning of this year, Boeing’s image suffered another blow after an Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 aircraft lost a door panel during the flight. In the following months, loose panels were also found on similar models, which were probably not screwed down.
787 Dreamliner
On Monday, Boeing reported to the American aviation authority FAA that an employee raised the alarm about the safety inspection of the 787 Dreamliner, one of the best-selling models. The company found that ‘several’ employees had indeed broken rules. For example, the staff allegedly claimed on paper to have carried out an inspection of the connection between the wings and the fuselage. But in practice it turned out that they had not done so.
The aviation authority promptly announced an investigation into the alleged tampering. Boeing is also now inspecting all 787 aircraft still in production, the FAA said. And the company must consider how it will handle all the devices that have already been delivered. According to the troubled aircraft manufacturer, the issue does not cause any immediate problem for flight safety.
Questionable safety culture
The falsification of aircraft inspection documents shows how questionable the safety culture at Boeing is. That is also what Boeing employee and whistleblower Sam Salehpour said last month during a US Congressional hearing. According to him, the company knew about problems with the assembly, but chose to keep the matter quiet. After all, solving the problem could cost a lot of money and also reduce production. And while the company focuses on increasing profitability.
Boeing views its employee’s willingness to report as a sign that the company is making progress, it said this week. It “immediately notified” the FAA and “took prompt and serious corrective action.” The company previously announced it would slow production to improve quality control. “We won’t rush things,” CFO Brian West said. ‘To do it right, we’re going to slow down.’
It is clear to outsiders that this could take some time. Boeing shares have lost almost 30 percent of their market value since the incident in January. Several directors have left or announced their departure, including CEO Dave Calhoun. Customers – airlines – also have to wait longer for the delivery of their aircraft due to the problems.
Airbus lead
The only one that can hold its own is the competition from Europe. Airbus and Boeing were evenly matched for a long time, but Airbus is now miles ahead. For example, a net 2,094 aircraft were ordered last year, a record thanks to a mega order of 750 aircraft from India. Boeing received orders for ‘only’ 1,314 aircraft in the same period.
Airbus mainly has an advantage when it comes to so-called ‘narrow-body’ aircraft, smaller aircraft (no more than two hundred passengers) that fly short distances. The demand for such devices is constantly increasing. Boeing’s strength, however, lies in the ‘widebody’ segment, aircraft for intercontinental flights and freight transport.
Yet Boeing will not be completely wiped out anytime soon. Although the Chinese are also entering the market with the C919, a ‘made in China’ passenger aircraft, there are currently only two established aircraft manufacturers. And both Airbus and Boeing have more orders than they can handle, with one backlog of 8,598 and 6,216 aircraft respectively. It will take years to catch up on those backlogs, so Boeing customers cannot be helped quickly by competitors. Moreover, the companies operate in an industry where not only purely commercial interests predominate: geopolitical interests also play a role in placing aircraft orders.
