Question

The Market for Large Commercial Aircraft

Two companies, Boeing and Airbus, have long dominated the market for large commercial jet aircraft. Today Boeing planes account for 50% of the world’s fleet of commercial jet aircraft, and Airbus planes account for 31%. The reminder of the global market is split between several smaller players, including Embraer of Brazil and Bombardier of Canada, both of which have a 7% share. Embraer and Bombardier, however, have to date focused primarily on the regional jet market, building planes of less than 100 seats. The market for aircraft with more than 100 seats has been totally dominated by Boeing and Airbus.

The overall market is large and growing. In 2014, Boeing delivered 723 aircraft and Airbus delivered 620 aircraft. Demand for new aircraft is driven primarily by demand for air travel, which has grown at 5% per annum compounded since 1980. Looking forward, Boeing predicts that over the next 20 years the world economy will grow at 3.2% per annum, and airline traffic will continue to grow at 5% per annum as more and more people from the world’s emerging economies take to the air for business and pleasure trips. Given the anticipated growth in demand, Boeing believes the world’s airlines will need 37,000 new aircraft between 2013 and 2033 with a market value of $5.2 trillion dollars in today’s prices.

Clearly, the scale of future demand creates an enormous profit opportunity for the two main incumbents, Boeing and Airbus. Given this, many observers wonder if the industry will see new entries. Historically, it has been assumed that the high development cost associated with bringing new commercial jet aircraft to market, and the need to realize substantial economies of scale to cover those costs, has worked as a very effective deterrent to new entries. For example, estimates suggest that it cost Boeing some $18 to $20 billion to develop its latest aircraft, the wide bodied Boeing 787, and that the company will have to sell 1,100 787s to break even, which will take 10 years. Given the costs, risks, and long time horizon here, it has been argued that only Boeing and Airbus can afford to develop new large commercial jet aircraft.

However, in the last few years, three new entrants have appeared. All three are building smaller narrow-bodied jets with a seat capacity between 100 and 190. Boeing’s 737 and the Airbus A320 currently dominate the narrow-bodied segment. The Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) is building a 170- to 190-seat narrow-bodied jet, scheduled for introduction in 2018. To date, Comac has 430 firm orders for the aircraft, mostly from Chinese domestic airlines. Bombardier is developing a 100- to 150-seat plane that will bring it into direct competition with Boeing and Airbus for the first time. Scheduled for introduction in late 2015, Bombardier has 243 firm orders and another 100 commitments for these aircraft. Embraer too, has developed a 108- to 125-seat plane to compete in the narrow-bodied segment, the E-190/195. It has taken orders for 720 of these aircraft, 640 of which had been delivered by late 2014. The new entry is occurring because all three producers believe that the market for narrow-bodied aircraft is now large enough to support more than Boeing and Airbus. Bombardier and Embraer can leverage the knowhow they developed manufacturing regional jets to help them move upmarket. For its part, Comac can count on orders from Chinese airlines and the tacit support of the Chinese government to help it get off the ground.

In response to these competitive threats, Boeing and Airbus are developing new, more fuelefficient versions of their own narrow-bodied planes, the 737 and A320. Although they hope their new offerings will keep entrants in check, one thing seems clear: with potentially five producers rather than two in the market, it seems likely that competition will become more intense in the narrowbodied segment of the industry, which could well drive prices and profits down for the big two incumbent producers.

Given future projections for demand, how do you think the industry as a whole will do over the next twenty years? How might your forecast differ for the wide-bodied and narrow-bodied segments?

Answer 1

The commercial jet aircraft industry will likely grow substantially in the next twenty years due to increasing air travel demand, with Boeing and Airbus leading the market. New entrants will intensify competition in the narrow-bodied segment, while the wide-bodied segment will remain less contested due to high barriers to entry.

Step-by-step explanation:

The industry for large commercial jet aircraft is poised for expansion over the next twenty years, fuelled by the predicted annual growth of air travel at 5%. Boeing and Airbus have long dominated this market, but new entrants like Comac, Bombardier, and Embraer are beginning to challenge the duopoly, especially in the narrow-bodied aircraft segment. The wide-bodied segment, featuring massive aircraft like the Airbus A380, remains dominated by the two incumbents, with high development costs and economies of scale creating significant barriers to entry for new competitors. However, the increased demand for air travel, bolstered by deregulation and more efficient aircraft designs, suggests that both segments will see substantial growth, albeit with potentially lower profit margins for Boeing and Airbus due to increased competition. Boeing’s prediction of the need for 37,000 new aircraft in the next twenty years underscores the overall positive outlook for the industry, although the competitive landscape will evolve, especially in the narrow-bodied segment.