Boeing CEO James McNerney expressed his and Boeing’s viewpoint that they support American Airlines having an opportunity to exit their bankruptcy as a stand alone company.  McNerney acknowledges that US Airways hasn’t bought Boeing in a some time and sees AA as a loyal Boeing customer as well.

Is this support for AA an attempt to preserve the AA orders for Boeing 737MAX aircraft?  At least a little bit, yes.  In addition, Boeing has and continues to support AA’s purchases for aircraft in a variety of ways.  They’re a good customer.  Is that support founded on sheer love for the airline?  I suspect not.

In fact, any worry about the 737MAX is kind of silly.  The merged airline would, upon conclusion, have far more Boeing aircraft and far more resources to service and operate Boeing aircraft than Airbus aircraft.  Furthermore, both airlines have orders for Airbus A320NEO aircraft already.  Airlines of that size can no longer afford to be an exclusive customer of one manufacturer or another.  Their size (and the size of several competitors) demand manufacturing positions that can’t be serviced exclusively by one manufacturer.

I suspect that if Doug Parker is able to re-assure Boeing over its existing AA orders, Boeing will go neutral or even supportive of such a merger.  At the end of the day, it’s about having a customer and earning money.  Furthermore, it even gives Boeing an “in” with the US Airways executive team that it has not had for some time.

Filed under: Airline News by ajax
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