So far, aircraft manufacturers have mainly been discussed in the “I bought/sold recently” thread, thus missing out on speculation and precise analyses. However, quite a few forum members seem to follow either Airbus or Boeing, with the most knowledgeable even following smaller manufacturers.
The coronavirus makes the topic particularly interesting. Airbus has descended from the €135 level to the €60 level, while Boeing’s flight stalled at the $330 level, after which its landing gear met resistance at the $150 level. For Airbus, for example, this amounts to over 50 billion euros in market value. Is the impact of the coronavirus really this significant? Airbus has a production backlog of about 7700 aircraft, which will take 8 years to complete. A temporary dip in the demand curve should be caught up within the next 8 years.
Airbus is likely to further strengthen its market position in narrow-body aircraft (A320 now around 60%), and the ongoing crisis will further complicate Boeing’s competitive position against Airbus’s flagship A321XLR. Boeing’s ongoing problems with the 737 Max will not help in building credibility, and a huge portion of resources is going into fixing problems, while others focus on future development.
In wide-body aircraft, the Dreamliner is at least for now more popular in terms of order numbers than Airbus’s competitor A350. For example, American Airlines demonstrated the importance of fleet commonality a couple of years ago by canceling an order for 20 A350 aircraft and switching them to Dreamliners. In larger aircraft, Airbus’s A380 is in its infancy compared to Boeing’s “Heavy,” the jumbo jet. What is the future for the largest aircraft, will/does Airbus want to renew the A380?
Airbus’s and Boeing’s market shares also vary by continent. For example, last autumn, the Indian low-cost airline IndiGo ordered 300 narrow-body aircraft, valued at approximately 30 billion. Airbus won the competition that lasted for a longer period. This is just one of several larger deals recently.
Market areas currently:
Boeing:
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North America 48%
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Asia 28%
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Europe 14%
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Middle East 10%
Airbus:
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Asia 40%
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Europe 30%
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North America 19%
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Middle East 11%
From the demographic distribution, it can be noted that Airbus’s market position is more in developing countries. On the other hand, Boeing’s strength, for example in North America, can provide security and more stable results in the coming years, but in the long term, the economic development of Asian countries and the speculated massive increase in Asian travel, especially concerning China (also speculated in the case of Finnair), support interesting market prospects for Airbus.
Both companies also have operations outside passenger air traffic, including in the military sector, helicopters, and space projects. Especially Boeing’s importance to the USA is so immense that, despite major problems, the company will certainly not be allowed to collapse. The markets are not currently pricing in very rosy prospects for either company - for example, Airbus’s valuation of around 11 P/E, depending on 2021 forecasts, indicates disbelief in future deliveries and practically leaves future growth drivers unvalued.
The coronavirus will certainly reshape air traffic, but considering the overall picture, will flying disappear from the world? Remote meetings etc. will likely become more common, but especially with the huge volume from developing countries, one could imagine the future being even more about flying.
Could we get thoughts, ideas, and analysis on aircraft manufacturers here? Of course, airlines outside the duopoly will also be considered. ![]()