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Comment by happyjack | Hacker News Reader

When the Clinton administration forced the downsizing of the military industrial complex (https://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/articles/2015/12/2/f...), the USA lost all competition in the larger than regional aircraft. To compete with Airbus (subsidized by the EU), Boeing turned from manufacturing their own airplanes (and using suppliers in America) to assembling planes in Washington and forcing procurement of their products internationally through contracted parts. (https://d3.harvard.edu/platform-rctom/submission/its-complic...). Nippon airways would buy x number of 737s, etc. as long as they were making the brakes. Hell, even Airbus assembles in the USA now to force procurement in America.

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> To compete with Airbus (subsidized by the EU), Boeing turned from manufacturing their own airplanes (and using suppliers in America) to assembling planes in Washington and forcing procurement of their products internationally through contracted parts.

Yes, this is one of the more common alternative fact on what happened to Boeing. Going beyond the nonsensical take of the evil subsidized foreign company unfairly competing against the hardworking non-subsidized domestic aircraft builder, as various independent pundits have reported in the light of recent events, Boeing's woes are mostly self-inflicted, starting even before the infamous MD takeover.

But it's true that it is more flattering to paint yourself as the victim of unfair globalization as opposed to acknowledging that the ruthless search of short-term gains came at the cost of product quality and passengers lives.

It's not an alternative fact, and I'm not defending Boeing. I could give a shit about Boeing.

The fact is there's no competition in the American commercial part 121 airline world. No competition makes you lazy and incompetent.

And there will never be competition. It cost Cirrus (small, single engine GA aircraft) $100 million to get a type certificate. The Boeing 737 max is still on its original type certificate.

Boeing and airbus is what the (western) world has for big jets. It's a duopoly and has no signs of not being one. Boeing probably shouldn't be a public company either.

The rest of world's aircraft manufacturers are quasi majority state owned enterprises.

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