Boeing Is Choking on Airbus' Fumes

Businessweek ^ | June 30,2003 | Stanley Holmes, with Carol Matlack, in Paris

[Arkie2]

Boeing acquired McD for its military business which was and is very good.

[Mind-numbed Robot]

Why does the headquarters location matter? I am not arguing, just curious.

See #20 as CdMGuy says part of it for me.

The reason given for picking Chicago was something along the lines of "Lifestyle opportunities and more good restaurants in Chicago" while Texas has no income tax, the local taxes are reasonable (they were probably even offered exemptions from that) and the restaurants and lifestyle opportunities are abundant. In addition the weather is much more pleasant, there are several existing large airports, there is an abundance of trained airplane manufacturing personnel in the area because of General Dynamics (now Lockheed I guess), Vought Aeronautics, Bell Helicopter, and another I can't recall at the moment as well as the old Carswell SAC AFB. In short, Dallas had it all over Chicago except for perhaps some subjective preference of the Boeing CEO. That kind of management decision does not bode wello for a company.

[Batrachian]

I think Boeing should move all airplane production to China. Their planes would then be 1/2 the price (or less) and Airbus would be buried.

Sound crazy? It's probably only a matter of time.

[lelio]

I think Boeing should move all airplane production to China.
If Boeing's ever to sell more than a handful of planes in China they'll have to. Plus with the Chinese government's attitude to its civilians they can have a couple of crashes without worrying about it. Hey, a good place to beta test any new passenger aircraft they have.

[Fracas]

Rumor has it the WIVES of the executives chose Chicago. Put to a vote, the wives rejected TX because of 'big hair, boots, and cultural wasteland' (paraphrasing). Chicago, OTOH, had Oprah, shopping and a better Symphony...also closer to NYC.

[oceanview]

I could believe that.

The fundamental problem is that the people who rise into the top ranks of US Fortune 500 management don't really want to be bothered running industrial companies. They are all quick buck artists, trying to fatten their own wallets with next quarters results, fatten up the investment bankers they work with, and who think that every employee except those the corporate suites are just costs to be purged. American capitalism is at risk from these people, in every basic industry that we used to dominate.

[Dick Bachert]

...because they're the FRENCH? You, as a ContentiousObjector, ought to grasp the significance of that. They are, after all, a nation of ContentiousObjectors.

[ContentiousObjector]

a draft dodger is a conscientious objector a contentious objector is something else entirely.

[Dick Bachert]

Are you a pacifist? Just curious.

[Fracas]

Well said...and if that's their goal, they're being quite successful.

[ContentiousObjector]

nope,

[Brimack34]

Looks like Linda Dasshole is asleep at the wheel!!!

[wjcsux]

The McD military business is okay. They have done well with Harpoon, JDAM and a few of their other programs. They did extremely well with the F-15. They mismanaged the C-17 so bad that AFMC had to come in and take over. Basically, McDonnell Douglas was a mediocre company that had some strong points. Boeing was an innovative mainstay of the aerospace and defense industry that has fallen on hard times. IMHO, a lot of it has been caused by the McDonnell Douglas millstone the company currently has around its neck.

[BamaGirl]

Thanks for the explanation. I'm sure the oh-so-cultured CEO didn't think Dallas was classy enough for his tastes. I hate people like that. What a buttnut.

[Citizen of the Savage Nation]

No mention of Airbus's heavy government subsidies from the Frogs. Did I miss something?

Yes, you did. No analysis of Airbus would be complete without reading this

No wonder they are winning the Air Wars, with generous kickbacks and by bribing the crap out of everyone.