Case Study: Boeing versus Airbus: Two Decades of Trade Disputes The Boeing-McDonnell Douglas Merger As the two largest producers in the commercial aircraft industry, Boeing and Airbus have been in a long rivalry for over two decades. Because of its huge research and development cost and a volatile market demand situation, the large commercial aircraft industry has only a few viable producers that can successfully operate in this industry. At the end of 1996, there were three competitors in the industry – Airbus, Boeing, and McDonnell Douglas (MDC). When Boeing announced in December 1996 the merger between Boeing and McDonnell Douglas, the dispute has again started between Boeing and Airbus. The merger was expected to go under …show more content…
From the liberal point of view, the FTC and the EC should recognize the Boeing-McDonnell Douglas merger as an international issue, not a national issue, so that it should restrain autonomy of state, in this case the U.S., preventing from intervention to protect domestic interests. However, in the case of Boeing-Mc Donnell Douglas, both antitrust authorities, specifically the European Commission, acted in a protectionist manner keeping domestic interests. In a study on 290 proposed acquisitions screened by the EC during 1990, it was found that although European merger and acquisition regulators claim to be protecting competition and consumers, in fact, the more harm suffered by European rival firms when the acquire is coming from the outside the EU, the greater the likelihood of European regulatory intervention against the proposed merger or acquisition . The EC’s focus on competitors rather than consumers was revealed by this study. There is also the question of national sovereignty. The US government officials and Boeing executives expressed their view that “what authority a European body would have over a merger between two US companies that did almost all of their manufacturing in the US and had a few assets in the EU ” On the one hand, it is reasonable that once the FTC made its decision on the
The Aerospace and Defense (A&D) is a highly concentrated industry (Global Edge, n. d.). The market is largely dominated by a small number of large companies in the industry, which is a characteristic of an oligopolistic competition. The major players in the industry include Boeing, Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman, and Raytheon, (Choi, 2016). In oligopolistic market, companies make decisions based on their own actions as well as of others’ in mind (Johnson, 2014; Boundless, 2017). According Pettinger (2016), the key characteristics of oligopoly are
With only a few large companies across the globe (Boeing, MD, and Airbus), the commercial aircraft industry essentially exhibits the qualities of an oligopolistic competition with intense rivalry. Here is an analysis of competition in the commercial aircraft business using Porter’s Five Forces.
The industry environment was also in Boeings favor at the time. Boeing had a history of dedicated customers. The company had been making commercially successful jet aircraft since it first developed the “707”. Boeing was so successful at manufacturing the jet aircraft, that it was one of two companies left making them. This advantage gave them the ability to be a powerful supplier. The expense of the development process also made it extremely difficult for new companies to even enter the market. Boeing faced only one competitor at this point; Airbus (Pearce, Robinson, 2003).
The business level strategies for Boeing commercial are deliver customer value, lead with innovation and fuel growth through productivity. Boeing Commercial Airplanes, a business unit of The Boeing Company, is committed to being the leader in commercial aviation by offering airplanes and services that deliver superior design, efficiency and value to customers around the world (Boeing.com, n.d).
There are two major barriers that are leading to an inevitable failure in the Royal Biscuit and Edeling merger. The first, and most important, is the lack of cultural competency between Brighton and Wallach, the two merger officiators. Both parties are displaying characteristics of ethnocentrism and misperception. Second, is the lack of corporate competency resulting from dissimilar corporate cultures, histories and business strategies. If the merger of the two companies is to be successful then corporate synergy must be realized; otherwise the union is doomed to failure.
Given the competitive dynamics in the commercial aircraft industry, it is not likely that Airbus could have become a viable competitor without subsidies. These dynamics include investment costs in the billions for research and development of a new airliner, long break-even times, significant experience curve on the manufacturing side, and the highly volatile demand for aircraft. Due to a lack of market share, if Airbus entered the market without this support they would have suffered many years of losses resulting in a possible bankruptcy. However, Airbus credits its success to a good product and a good strategy instead of
Strategy #1 The aircraft market is extremely competitive, even though there are less than five major players globally. Between Boeing and Airbus, most of the market share for the next generation aircraft has already been solidified. For Bombardier to effectively gain orders it must make the aircraft are more appealing to purchasers in two major ways: cost and performance. In the final cost of an aircraft, a great deal of money is spent on research and development. Boeing has millions invested in new aircraft and wing design, and piggy-backs off its other divisions and aircraft offerings. Airbus receives a great deal of benefit from its govermnet contracts
In the market for large aircraft demand the emerging niche for very large aircraft (VLCT aircraft seating more than 400 passengers) saw only two competitors: Boeing and Airbus. Even though both competitors’ moves were clearly marked by technology enhancements, and different target markets but both exhibited strategic interdependence.
The merger between American Airlines and U.S. Airways is one that can be explained using static game theory models. The two players in the game would be American Airlines and U.S. Airways. Each one of the players would have something to gain from the merger, but they would also have something to lose. In this game American Airlines is our first player. American Airlines’ potential payoff is merging with a company that is maximizing profits, but is also lacking in the customer service department. U.S. Airways is player two, and in this game they are merging with a business that is suffering from chapter 11 bankruptcy, but is excelling in customer service.
Dominating the commercial aircraft market for decades, Boeing is considered to be the most highly competitive U.S aerospace industry. “U.S. firms manufacture a wide variety of products for civil and defense purposes and, in 2010, the value of aerospace industry shipments was estimated at $171 billion, of which civil aircraft and aircraft parts accounted for over half of all U.S. aerospace shipments. The U.S. aerospace industry exported nearly $78 billion in products in 2010, of which $67 billion (or 86% of total exports) were civil aircraft, engines, equipment, and parts” (Harrison, 2011). However, its position of influence has lessened in recent years. This is due to its main competitor, Airbus, who in recent years has made significant
The Boeing corporation had been a very successful company in the mid-1990s. At the time, it dominanted the market in commercial aviation with an additional thriving sideline in the military and space contracts market. Boeing faced and then overcame a huge number of challenges but also took advantage of many opportunities that were offered up by the aerospace market in the late 1990s. The company faced a number of challenges. In wake of he the first Gulf War, the incumbent economic slowdown severely decreased the market demand. Also, the Boeing encountered stiff competition from the company Airbus which many experts have attributed to heavy subsidies by European government that gave the company an unfair advantage market advantage. For instance, in 1999, Airbus outsold Boeing for the first time in the company's history and delivered to the market more airplanes than the Boeing company did in
The main objective of Boeing's strategy is to analyze the commercial aircraft industry, to understand the demand that is present, and to formulate a solution that will fulfill that segment. Currently, there are only two major players in the global market: Boeing and Airbus. Boeing is widely known as the "free market" champion, while Airbus represents the "not-so-free" approach of the European Union's organized and government subsidized
Aircraft industry is deeply related to the government sector. As case says, both companies Bombardier and Embraer S.A, were the originally in government sector. Since this industry generally have a historical relationship with the military, each state has tendency to protect it.
The merger case between General Electric Co. (GE) and Honeywell Inc. has sparked considerable debate between US antitrust agencies, economists and scholars since the announcement of its unsuccessful attempt by the European Commission (EC). GE is a corporation active in aircraft engines, financial services, and transportation systems while Honeywell is a manufacturing company producing aerospace products and is the leading supplier for engine starters. Both parties are from the US.
GE has officially announced the merge and acquisition with Honeywell on October 22, 2000 and if it has been gone through, GE will be the biggest company in aerospace industry with more than 60% of total market share. Undoubtedly, GE will be more monopolists and may bring about the unfair competition with the rivals. Hence, both the United States (represented by the Department of Justice (DOJ)) and European countries (represented by the European Commission (EC)) have a "Antitrust Law ' subject to protect the merger