When Boeing Co. was building a seemingly unassailable position in commercial aviation in the 1960s and ‘70s, passengers’ faith in its relentless focus on quality inspired the slogan “ if it ain’t Boeing, I ain’t going.”
Following the latest calamity to befall the US aerospace giant — the in-flight blowout of a 737 Max door plug of a plane operated by Alaska Air Group Inc. that fortunately wasn’t fatal, unlike the two crashes involving 737 Max jets in 2018 and 2019 — aviation requires a new catchphrase that encapsulates Boeing’s shattered safety reputation and the ascendancy of its only serious rival. This nervous flier suggests “If it ain’t Airbus, the regular bus will do just fine.”
In the wake of the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines disasters, I wrote that the Airbus-Boeing dupoly had become “extremely unbalanced.” At this point, I’m running out of hyperbole to describe the starkly diverging fortunes of the two aircraft manufacturers.
Notwithstanding a punishing pandemic and supplier difficulties that have slowed Airbus’ advance, on just about every metric the European firm is now trouncing its US rival. Barring an unforced error, it’s hard to see the Americans catching up for years.
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