Boeing 737 MAX medium-haul aircraft have already been grounded for eleven months after two crashes that killed 346 passengers and crew. Can this unprecedented crisis lead the American manufacturer to bankruptcy? This is the great fear of all the aeronautical players who hope that the plane will return to the air as quickly as possible. It must be said that the 4,932 aircraft on order are a vital necessity for suppliers as well as for airlines. Even Airbus wants this very profitable duopoly to continue. Especially since the European aircraft manufacturer, whose factories are running at full speed to produce the 6,800 aircraft of the A320 family on order, absolutely cannot resume all or part of the production of its rival.
In less than a year, the MAX crisis turned into an industrial disaster and completely reshuffled the sector cards. In 2019, the sales curves of the two aircraft manufacturers crossed, the European passing in front. For Boeing, the fall is severe. With just 345 deliveries last year, it is far from its 2018 record when it delivered 806 aircraft. Corollary of this industrial debacle, its turnover plunged from 25 billion dollars (23 billion euros) in 2019, to 75 billion and its profit melted, passing from 10 billion dollars to a loss of 636 million dollars. And the troubles of Boeing are far from over. World Trade Organization (WTO) to authorize EU to impose major trade sanctions on US exports in spring to condemn 18 billion tax credits, like grants, to aircraft manufacturer from Seattle, Washington.
Airbus, on the contrary has taken off. Last year, it delivered 863 aircraft. The best result in its history. A performance masked by the annual loss of 1.36 billion euros announced Thursday, February 13, the 2019 accounts having been sealed by fines in a corruption case and a new charge on the A400M military transport aircraft program.
MAX factories shut down
“We have a 70% market share. It’s an observation in a year 2019 that does not reflect the future ", soberly points out Bob Lange, responsible for analyzes and market forecasts for Airbus. By 2022, the gap will widen further. The aircraft manufacturer will once again accelerate its production rate. "Our main objective is to respect the ramp-ups to meet our customers' expectations", adds Mr. Lange. In practice, the group must release sixty A320s each month this year, then sixty-three in 2021.
