- [Narrator] This is Boeing's 737 MAX,
and this is its rival, the Airbus A320neo.
These planes are at the center of the biggest rivalry
in the aviation industry. (pleasant orchestral music)
They're both competing for the same market
and are mostly used on relatively short trips
like Boston to Miami or London to Madrid.
Now, also thanks to the A320neo,
Airbus has had a solid year.
The airliner has established itself as a best-seller
since it first made its commercial flight in 2016.
Boeing, on the other hand,
has had a very rough year.
The 737 MAX, which started flying commercially in 2017,
was supposed to strengthen Boeing's position
as the world's largest plane maker.
Instead, it became a symbol of one of the worst crises
in the company's history.
What does this all mean for the two companies
that secure 99% of the world's large-plane orders?
- It's really two old competitors, you know,
battling it out in the ring,
and they say there's no room in this ring for anybody else.
- [Narrator] This chart shows deliveries
for Boeing and Airbus since the start of 2019.
You'll see Boeing's total deliveries start to fall
after the March grounding of 737 MAX jets,
and, as it stands now, there's virtually no way
Boeing can deliver more planes than Airbus this year,
but Airbus might not hold the top spot for long.
- This'll bounce back and forward between the two companies
depending on the product they're selling,
on the number of airlines they can get on board.
It really is something you can sort of watch this
go back and forward
like a tide coming out and tide going in.
- [Narrator] So what's behind this latest power shift
in the aviation world?
What's happening with Boeing's 737 MAX
is a good place to start.
- [Reporter] To crash into the ocean.
- A Lion Air Boeing 737.
- [Reporter] A devastating scene tonight.
- An Ethiopian Airlines jet
with 157 people onboard has crashed.
- [Narrator] After two deadly crashes in five months,
Boeing's 737 MAX became the subject
of international investigations, public scrutiny,
a flood of lawsuits, and some high-profile shakeups
in the company's leadership.
- We're gonna be issuing an emergency order of prohibition
to ground all flights of the 737 MAX 8
and the 737 MAX 9.
- [Narrator] The MAX situation has raised concerns
about whether Boeing has done enough
to make sure its planes are safe to fly.
- Safety is our responsibility.
We own it, and the work of our team will make the 737 MAX
one of the safest airplanes ever to fly.
- [Narrator] The company's business has taken a hit.
Many of those 737 MAXs are just sitting in Boeing facilities
and other storage areas around the world.
As of October, the MAX crisis had already cost Boeing
$9 billion and wiped more than 40 billion
off its market value.
As the situation drags on,
Boeing has tried to boost confidence,
reiterating that safety is its top priority.
In a September press release, CEO Dennis Muilenburg said
that ensuring the safety of the flying public,
pilots, and crew is Boeing's top priority
as they work to return the 737 MAX to service.
Muilenburg was stripped of his chairmanship on October 11th,
but he is still the CEO.
(pensive mallet percussion music)
So does this mean Airbus is benefiting
from the 737 MAX's woes?
Not necessarily.
- Buying an airliner is not like going down
to your local car showroom and saying,
"I don't like a Ford, I'll pop down to Chevy
"and see what they've got."
You really are in a list, you're in a queue
that's got a line that's gonna stretch back
to maybe even three years if it's a really popular airplane.
- [Narrator] Even without the MAX situation,
Airbus was already on track to overtake Boeing's deliveries.
Now, it just appears to be happening
a little sooner than expected,
and that's thanks in part to the A320neo.
Airbus has gone from producing 50 a month in 2017
to 60 the next year,
with the CEO saying demand could possibly support
more than 70 a month in the near future,
but it's not all about these two planes.
Airbus and Boeing make other models,
and their facing challenges there, too.
Airbus is phasing out its A380 model,
which hasn't been selling well,
but production on it was already so low,
it's not having much of an impact
on the company's overall output.
Boeing has repeatedly had to push back
the first test flight of its 777X
due to production problems.
In a September press release,
Boeing said it doesn't expect further delays
and, quote, "we remain fully focused on safety
"as our highest priority, as we subject the 777X
"to a rigorous test program prior to first flight."
Not that delays on new planes are unusual.
Both Boeing and Airbus
have faced production problems before.
It's just really bad timing for Boeing
to take on another set of issues right now.
The company is still trying to get
its 737 MAX back in the air
after more than seven months on the ground,
and that's just the planes.
The aviation giants have a lot of other factors
to think about, too, like geopolitics and tariffs.
In October, the WTO said the U.S.
can slap $7.5 billion worth of tariffs
on EU-produced goods because of the subsidies
Airbus gets from the EU.
In a statement, Airbus said the only way
to prevent negative effects of the tariffs
is for the U.S. and EU to negotiate a settlement.
There's also Brexit, oil prices,
trade wars, regulation, and of course, competition.
Supported by the Chinese government,
Chinese-made planes may soon hit the market,
though it could take years for the Chinese company
known as Comac to scale up production.
- The competition from the Chinese
is maybe 10 years away from becoming significant.
- [Narrator] As air travel continues to rise
and both companies anticipate growth in the coming years,
whatever happens with these planes
will impact how millions of people move across the world.
(pensive mallet percussion music)