Boeing and Airbus Dispute

- Anjali Pelleti

One of the largest and most well-known corporate fights between the two top aircraft manufacturers in the world was between Boeing and Airbus. Boeing, which was founded in 1916, had Airbus, a formidable rival, when the latter first began its operations 54 years after Boeing. It represented over 55% of the worldwide aviation market in 1994. In terms of order delivery, Airbus maintained its position as the world's top aircraft manufacturer from 2003 to 2011. Experts noted that during the "Paris Air Show 2013," the increasing wars between the Jumbo bodies intensified.The highly anticipated A350 XWB was unveiled by Airbus, and Boeing also revealed the third, larger version of the 787 Dreamliner. As of July 2013, Boeing had shipped 306 jets while Airbus had shipped 295. To capture a sizeable portion of the $100 billion global commercial aviation market, both businesses made a concerted effort to market their aircraft using cutting-edge concepts.

Experts also noted that Airbus planned to create a duopoly business model with Boeing in order to reduce the risk of a price war that would drain profits from the market for narrow body aircraft. For many years, one side accused the other of unjustly supporting its leading aircraft manufacturers. The World Commerce Organisation concluded in 2019 that the European Union (EU) had improperly supported Airbus leading to the US, retaliating with tariffs of up to $7.5 billion in yearly trade. Later, it was found that the US breached trade laws, allowing the EU to impose penalties on the US totalling about $4 billion. Both parties have since taken action to get rid of the help that was determined to be at fault. The US and the UK have decided to put a five-year suspension and work even harder to combat unfair trade practices. The fierce struggle for dominance has come to an end.