The Rivalry Between Boeing and Airbus Essay

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.

Suppliers generally have a moderate to high bargaining power within the industry due to the limited number of suppliers which forces aviation companies to choose from the number available and accordingly to accept their prices. In fact, fuel is the second highest cost for aviation companies. There are highly depended on supplier’s prices and the availability which indicates on a relatively high bargaining power of suppliers. In addition, there are high switching costs which are strongly in favor of the suppliers and means that the company experiences an increase in operating costs when switching to another supplier as flying another type of aircraft leads to additional costs (maintenance, training etc.).Aircrafts are vulnerable to delays due to the location of gate locations which leads to a decrease in utilization and therefore to an increase in costs.

Some governments provide subsidies that provide an unfair advantage and prices lower than market conditions which affects the functioning of airline industries directly and Global

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.

Market Share Airbus will launch their new large, long distance plane A380 in 2006. This plane can be a dreadful competitive product to Boeing. If Boeing falls behind regarding innovations, fuel efficiency and other attributes of a long haul airliner, it will soon lose its market share. In order for Boeing to compete in the aviation industry, it is crucial to take on some risk and develop this new 7E7 project. This helps the company to fight against its competitors and recover from the slump in the industry.

3. As Boeing, how would you respond to this situation? How does your answer depend on what you think Airbus is likely to do? Please provide some calculations to support your answers.

Nevertheless, as Boeing gears up for its all-new 7E7 airliner, arch rival Airbus may already be putting 7E7 orders at risk by talking to airlines about a similar plane. Airbus is viewed a having advanced technologies coupled with a conglomerate backing and Boeing has not come up with any new innovative ideas in the last ten

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

This is a case about three different companies dedicated to the manufacturing of aircrafts. Those three major companies are: Boeing, Airbus Industry and McDonnell Douglas; each of one was struggling to produce enough aircraft to satisfy a seemingly unquenchable need for passenger and freight transport around the world, developed in this form many kinds of aircrafts in different models and styles.

A drop in fares has been the best result of the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978. It has been the impetus for the increase in the number of flights, which in turn has spurred a drive for greater safety in airlines. But with the current airline market, this development has given us one negative. Since ticket prices have dropped to new lows, the realities of an industry which operates on such economies of scale dictates that only a few competitors have the capacity to operate within the market. This is not the desired effect of either political side on this issue, but it is an economic necessity with the environment that has been created, very similar to that of public utilities and phone companies.

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

The supplier power in airlines is dominated by the world’s two largest aircraft manufacturers are Airbus and Boeing. The competition between the two manufacturers is neck to neck but that would prove to be a boon for Emirates as the prices would not rocket through the ceiling. A study shows that Emirates holds 93 Boeing aircrafts and 83 Airbus units (Planespotters, 2009). In 2007, Emirates purchased 81 Airbus flights, to extend it services- however, they chose Airbus over Boeing as the latter failed to deliver its latest aircrafts on time and moreover, Airbus had quoted a good price (Barryl, 2007). The changing oil prices also have an adverse effect on the aviation industry. In a nutshell, the bargaining power of suppliers is high.

1. What is an appropriate required rate of return against which to evaluate the prospective IRRs from the Boeing 777?

Weaknesses that Airbus has, is that due to their structure, and having a multi country consortium, they were slow to make decisions. In the 1980’s Airbus experienced difficulties in financing the A-320 project, since all the Airbus partner governments had not approved the program (Carpenter, M. A., & Sanders pg. 613). Airbus was slow in its decision making process because the partners of the consortium tried to safeguard its own interests rather than make decisions that would benefit them as a whole (Carpenter, M. A., & Sanders pg. 613).

In 2000, Airbus was considering launching a super jumbo jet that they called A3XX. This aircraft could seat 550 – 900 passengers, which classifies it as a type of “Very Large Aircraft.” The defining feature for Very Large Aircraft (VLA) was that it could hold more than 400 passengers (or carry more than 80 tons of freight). Boeing was a monopolist in the VLA market, since the only other VLA available for purchase was their 747 aircraft. For Airbus, the question of deciding whether to launch A3XX was a question of whether they (a potential entrant) should attempt to break into the market of an incumbent monopolist (Boeing).