ABSTRACT
The Boeing-McDonnell Douglas merger creates a new challenge for Airbus. However, this is less challenging than the one Airbus has successfully faced in capturing 30% of a market starting from scratch. Airbus was created 25 years ago from the vision of some European industrialists with the support of a number of politicians. The commercial success of Airbus has infuriated the Americans who consider the domination of the Large Commercial Aircraft (LCA) market by United States (US) industry as the norm. Since 1992, billions of dollars have been poured by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Department of Defense (DoD) into the US industry, which according to them generate no 'identifiable benefits' to LCA programmes. The Airbus strategy requires financial and industrial partners prepared to make significant commitments for funding or cooperation. With the recently announced move of the French government, it appears that the restructuring of Airbus is now under way.
