The battle between Boeing and Airbus has taken them to the WTO.
For the first time in many years Airbus has overtaken Boeing to become the world's leading manufacturer of passenger aircraft. Compared to Boeing's delivery of 218 aircraft last year, Airbus registered 224. With this Airbus secured 59% of the orders for new aircraft last year. What is encouraging for Airbus is that airlines like the German budget airline, Air Berlin and Austrian partner Niki, which stuck with Boeing for many years are shifting towards Airbus. Airbus presently has orders worth $6.6 bn from Air Berlin.
Analysts opine that Airbus has given the market what it wantsthe most modern, efficient and comfortable aircraft. Apart from that the financing and delivery schedules also played an important role in Boeing's success. Joachim Hunold, Managing Director, Air Berlin says, "Price is always an issue, but we also look at the delivery schedule that is possible and financing in choosing between the two plane makers."
Investment in R&D is an important factor that differentiates Boeing and Airbus. Boeing's investment in R&D has decreased compared to Airbus. This is also a very important point to be noted. A comparison of the investment in research by Airbus and Boeing over the last decade will show the widening gap. In general, Airbus has invested between 7-9% of its revenues in R&D, while Boeing's average investment is believed to be around 3%. |
