Few examples of international trade wars are more evident than the constant battle between Boeing and Airbus, which fight for supremacy at airports around the world. The struggle has see-sawed back and forth in recent decades, as Airbus reigned only to see its market share slip, to Boeing's advantage. Now, the companies are again at each other's throats, with two different strategies embodied by very different aircraft. Making matters all the more complicated, Boeing and Airbus no longer dominate the commercial aviation market, as they once did.
As Airbus rolls out its long-awaited, long-delayed A380 mega-jumbo jet, Boeing is dealing with problems of its own, though the American company still appears to have a leg up on its European counterpart. Singapore Airlines took delivery today of the first A380, delayed more than two years by technical and legal issues, and just one week after Boeing announced its 787 Dreamliner would be delayed at least six months.
The two companies are taking different approaches to serving their next generation of customers. The A380 will only be able to land at hub airports, and will ferry passengers between major destinations on well-traveled routes. The 787 is smaller, and will be able to serve customers on a more point-to-point destination. So far, Boeing seems to have done it best -- in mid-September, the company had more than 700 orders from 48 customers, while the A380 has attracted just 189 confirmed orders.
If a trade battle ever gets seriously underway between the U.S. and the European Union, one can bet that the two airline companies will feel the pinch.
In fact, some say at least one group has already used the plane makers to get back at the U.S. Emirates Airlines has ordered 55 A380 jets, and while the company is still taking delivery of Boeing 777 aircraft, Emirates has not ordered any 787s. The decision to go with the A380 came after a deal that would have given control of several U.S. ports to Dubai Ports World, a state-owned company in the United Arab Emirates.
Emirates Airlines, also a state-run company, has its hub at Dubai International Airport, which is undergoing a redesign in order to accommodate the mammoth A380.
While Airbus and Boeing fight the economic equivalent of the Battle of Britain, two smaller yet growing players have quietly though dramatically entered the market. While Boeing delivered 398 jets in 2006, little-known Embraer made 130 deliveries and Bombardier sold 112 planes, mostly to the American market. The smaller jets are widely visible on regional airline routes, making both companies growing players in the aerospace industry -- some estimates suggest the two companies own close to a fifth of the market, and there are more Embraer jets operating than the popular Boeing 767, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
Both companies can steer clear of any U.S.-E.U. trade wars as well. Bombardier is a Canadian company that specializes as well in trains, while Embraer is a Brazilian firm that is now the third-largest airplane manufacturer in the world.
It is hard to miss news accounts of the massive A380 barreling down the runway at Airbus headquarters in Toulouse, or of the 787 rolling out of its hanger in Everett, Washington. But the behind-the-scenes fight to control the commercial air market is becoming more intense, and the outcome could have international trade ramifications felt for a generation or more.