Boeing's Bad Week: Airbus Takes Flight at Paris Air Show!

Curse You Boeing!

Oh bloody hell! It appears that Airbus that oh so smug competitor is having a field day at the Paris Air Show. While Boeing is busy dealing with… *gestures vaguely*… everything Airbus is strutting around like they own the place. Twenty one billion dollars in orders you say? That's almost enough to buy a decent laser cannon! Almost. It seems AviLease ANA and LOT are all clamoring for the Airbus experience while Boeing is left fiddling with its… well you know. Perhaps they should try selling a few more executive washroom options. Always a hit those are.

A321neo: The Plane That Rules Them All

And now the dreaded A321neo! VietJet Air in their infinite (lack of) wisdom has signed a Memorandum of Understanding for 150 of these flying tubes. Honestly does anyone even care about legroom anymore? I suppose not if they're willingly cramming themselves into these things. EgyptAir and Starlux Airlines are also in on the Airbus action picking up A350s. Meanwhile Boeing is probably still trying to figure out how to keep the doors from falling off mid flight. Tsk tsk. Reminds me of the time I tried to build a time machine out of Brian's dog biscuits. Predictably it didn't end well.

AirAsia's Tony Fernandes A Man of Great...Negotiations

Ah Tony Fernandes a man of exquisite taste… in aircraft at least. He's apparently in talks to expand AirAsia's order for the Airbus XLR. The XLR! A long range narrowbody aircraft. It's like they're deliberately trying to torture passengers. Though I suppose less fuel costs are a plus. More money for champagne I always say! Speaking of deals even Embraer is getting in on the fun with 60 firm orders for the E175. The world is going mad I tell you! Mad!

Is Boeing in Trouble? A Question For Our Time

Don't let Boeing's quieter presence fool you though. Apparently demand is still 'strong.' Or so they say. They did seal a deal with Qatar Airways back in May. But let's be honest the real story here is the sheer number of aircraft backlogs. Both Boeing and Airbus are drowning in orders which means delays delays and more delays. It's like waiting for Brian to finally understand quantum physics. Utterly hopeless!

Flypasts Promotional Activities and Catastrophic Failures

And let's not forget Boeing's 'annus horribilis'. Between the 737 Max debacles the pandemic and the now infamous emergency exit door incident it's been one disaster after another. And just when they thought they could make a comeback the Air India crash happened. Poor chaps. It's enough to make one swear off commercial aviation altogether. Almost. Unless of course I had my own private jet. With a fully stocked bar and a minion to fluff my pillows naturally.

A Sober Mood Strong Demand and Unstable Defence Climate

So while the commercial aviation world is a bit 'muted,' defense deals are booming. War war never changes... except when it involves shiny new remote operated artillery systems. Thales is building 48 of them for the French government. Ooh la la! Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury says the "momentum in the industry is very strong," especially for widebody aircraft. Dan Taylor from IBA suggests that Boeing's quietness is more about 'context than competition.' A likely story! I suspect a conspiracy involving aliens time travel and a particularly stubborn flight attendant. But that's just me.