Did Airbus Miss a Once in a Lifetime Opportunity?

Airbus has struggled in recent years to meet its aircraft production targets.  If Airbus had aircraft availability soon, the company could have flipped long-time Boeing customers away from Boeing and gained significant market share, particularly in the high-volume narrow-body market.  While Airbus has significantly outperformed its major competitor over the last few years, it should have, realistically, captured even more market share and pressed its advantage. That would have impeded Boeing’s recovery for years.  Did short-sighted management at Airbus, led by Guillaume Faury, squander the opportunity?

Under Kelly Ortberg’s leadership, Boeing is now executing a turnaround strategy

that appears to be working during its early stages.  While the culture at Boeing will take years, rather than months, to change, the institution of key performance indicators and performance measures is guiding that turnaround.  Boeing is poised to close the gap in production rates and move back into the narrow-body market with a significant push once the FAA clears Boeing to increase production rates and certification of the MAX 7 and MAX 10 are completed.

Suppose Boeing executes its turnaround strategy, which so far appears feasible. In that case, the lead Airbus has built will diminish over the next three years, moving the duopoly back to near equal shares, with Boeing leading slightly in wide bodies and Airbus leading slightly in narrow bodies.