Airbus better than Boeing for America?

Came across an interesting article in The Economist magazine this week, I can't paste a link as the only site it's on is a subscription site, but I can paste the relevant section:

How Japan learned to fly
Jun 23rd 2005
From The Economist print edition

Stealth aid to Boeing has helped Japan to enter the manufacturing business

AMERICANS and Europeans have been quarrelling about subsidies for the manufacture of large commercial aircraft for nearly 40 years. But the quarrel today is much more complicated. Aircraft manufacturing has long been nationalistic, tied heavily to military and strategic interests through defence contracts. Lately though, it has been growing more and more global. Both Boeing and Airbus have built long supply chains reaching deep into each other's heartlands and they share many suppliers—about half of a new Airbus, for instance, is actually built in America.

Meanwhile, Boeing planes are becoming progressively more Japanese as Boeing has broadened its search for subsidies and Japan has been willing to pay in order to get a share of an industry long closed to its manufacturers. The change has been profound. In the 1960s only 2% of the content of Boeing's breadwinner, the 727, was non-American. By the mid-1990s this had grown to 30% in the 777, large parts of which are made in Japan. The latest Boeing model, the 200-300-seater long-haul 787, is the first of a new family of aircraft that represents the company's future in commercial aircraft. At least 70% of it will be built outside America, mostly in Japan.

I realize that percentage of plane built does not directly equal number of jobs/amount of investment provided to a particular countries economy, but it still goes to make you think. The Airbus/Boeing corporate boards probably see themselves as American or European much more in name than in substance.

-koji K.

[edit on 30-6-2005 by koji_K]

Couple of things to throw in here. Boeing and Airbus are more like system integrators now than they are from scratch producers of aircraft. Much like ships are now produced whole sections are made eleswhere and then put together at the plant.

Its difficult to quantify an exact percentage but this is from an Airbus press release:

In 2004, Airbus spent nearly $7 billion on parts, components, tooling
and services with American companies. According to a U.S. Department of
Commerce model, this investment translates into support for 140,000
American jobs.

* Airbus spends 46 percent of its global aircraft-related procurement
budget in the U.S.

* U.S. suppliers include large and small companies. Examples:
Aerostructures, Alcoa, Eaton, Electroimpact, Faber, Goodrich, GE,
Honeywell, Rockwell Collins and United Technologies.
Airbus

It plays no role how many workplaces Airbus creates in US. It will still be EU company and if let's say the Boeing is out of buisnes they can outsource all american workplaces out again. That's the reason everyone supports their own national companies. And I wonder which 70% f components Boeing makes outside US. So far I know only the wings are made in Japan.

longbow, the article below says that 35% of the contracts to build the 787 were awarded to Japanese companies but I don't know about the 70% figure.

cincypost
Japanese manufacturers have a big stake in the success of the 787.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. is designing and building the plane's wing - the first time a company other than Boeing will do so. Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. will handle design and assembly of the center wing stub, and Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. will provide part of the fuselage, the body of the plane.

The companies built about 21 percent of the Boeing 777 airframe and 15 percent of the 767, but they will be responsible for 35 percent of the 787. Boeing is even billing the 787 as "Made With Japan."

AceOfBase, you an employee of Airbus or own some stock in them?

The reason I ask is that the only time that I can get your to post in the Aircraft Projects forum is noticably when an Airbus topic or discussion is posted.

Coincidence?

You know, your more than welcome to post here more often and in other aircraft topics.





seekerof

The 787 airframe is constructed as following:

35% Boeing in US - forward fuselage, cockpit, verticle stabaliser and trims.

35% Japan - wings, forward center fuselage, central wing box

26% Vought Alenia - aft fuselage and tail section.

4% other manufacturers.

On top of that you have the engine manufacturers, which make up for up to 20% of the price of the aircraft as delivered. At the moment, 60% of 787 orders use Rolls Royce engines.

Seekerof, thanks for the invitation to participate in other Aircraft discussions.
I'll try to do that.

I don't work for Airbus or EADS and don't own stock in Airbus or EADS.
I'm just interested in the competition between Airbus and Boeing.


RichardPrice, thanks for the breakdown of the 787 manufacturing.

Although the a380 wings are being assembled by BAE systems in Broughton. The majority of the assembly work (panels etc) is subcontracted to an American company called Electro Impact they are based in Seattle and have worked for Boeing in the past. According to a friend Electro Impact workers have been attacked by Boeing workers for allowing jobs to be lost and working for the "enemy"


CHeers

Debaser