I get it. All is fair in love and war and it is war between Airbus and Boeing. But I’m not impressed by actions of the French President just days after the horrific Boeing 737 MAX 8 crash that killed 159 people in Ethiopia.
Bloomberg reports:
French President Emmanuel Macron has meanwhile held discussions with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed about a new contract for Toulouse-based Airbus SE as part of a renewal of the Ethiopian Airlines fleet, a French official said Thursday.
Though the African carrier already operates the European planemaker’s A350 wide-body, all of its other jets are Boeings, including 787 Dreamliners for which it was one of the first global customers, and a variety of 737s.
Put another way, Macron is putting the sales pressure on Ethiopia less than a week after the fatal crash. The implication is clear…you can’t trust Boeing. Trust us instead, just like you did with your black box.
And it’s not just Ethiopia.
Macron will also discuss a major Airbus order during his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping’s state visit to France later this month, the official said. China has 20 percent of all delivered Max jets and was the first major authority to ground the model after Sunday’s tragedy.
Of course, Macron is going to try to sell China aircraft. He’d be derelict not to, especially with China also looking to use the pair of 737 MAX tragedies to ramp up Comac C919 sales. And yet it just feels tacky. Can’t you imagine Macron and Xi sitting down for afternoon tea?
You know you really should cancel some of those Boeing orders. Why would you want to risk the lives of your citizens? And we’re not going to threaten you with tariffs either.
And note who is having these talks. Macron, the French President, did not call Ethiopian Airlines. Instead, he called (and visited) Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. Ethiopian is state-owned and has become a profit engine for the Republic. Macron will sit down with Xi Jinping, not representatives of the many Chinese airlines looking to expand their fleet.
This underscores how inextricably linked aircraft manufacturers are to government and politics.
CONCLUSION
Now let’s be real. Boeing would have done precisely the same thing had it been an Airbus jetliner that crashed. Thus, I am not making a moral equivalency argument. But the whole “never let a good tragedy go to waste” mantra is tacky…I just cannot think of a better word. Funerals and memorial services are ongoing for the victims of this crash. Body parts are still being tenderly pulled out of the wreckage. But Marcron is busy trying to get Ethiopian to switch from Boeing to Airbus before we even know why the 737 MAX crashed.
Much ado about nothing, shameful actions by the French president, or simply the way business is done?
image: A. Doumenjou / Airbus
Ethiopian would be wise to not make this a political issue given Trump and elections next year. They need the US more than the US needs Ethiopian.
The farce of sending black boxes everywhere but the US due to a conflict of interest is misguided. France owns Airbus, the US doesn’t own Boeing. FAA/EASA both certify Boeing and Airbus.
We will see what the investigation shows and if experience played a part in the crash. Impugning the NTSB is utter crap.
And you think Boeing wouldn’t do the same thing if the situation was reserved? Please.
Why shouldn’t Airbus take advantage of this?
What’s more ‘tacky’ is that the FAA were the LAST to ground the 737. Why do you think that is? (Hint: Boeing $$$ in Washington DC)
Did you even bother to read what I wrote?
You wrote a terrific article. You wrote/articulated my thoughts exactly. I am not affiliated and do not own any stock in any airline. Thanks for writing the article. There is an elephant in the room that needs to be discussed.
Not sure I agree (Jeff you obviously can’t read and just want to pick a fight), but I’ll bite.
Boeing doesn’t have that same level of access as Airbus to these leaders. Sure, it’s probably pretty close but not the same as the head of one of the world’s most important countries visiting and selling on behalf of the airline. It would have to go through lobbyists or work directly with the actual airline… you know, how global free commerce is supposed to work.
For all of Trump’s America First rhetoric, I still do not picture him flying to Ethiopia if the scenario were reversed to tout Boeing. The backlash would be brutal if so (omg he hates all plane crash victims!), which Macron conveniently hasn’t faced that from the MSM.
Your question: Much ado about nothing, shameful actions by the French president, or simply the way business is done?
I’d say both.
Bigger issue is ‘Regulatory Capture’ and why FAA didn’t require Boeing to disclose new systems – I’m guessing to help sell the plane on same as NG. I love to fly on Boeing airplanes but that does NOT mean I think the company isn’t at fault. See Washington Post article telling about Brazilian pilots figured out right away the new system needed to be learned.
I’m not disagreeing with your statement but using the Washington Post as a source is concerning. The Washington past is awful and completely biased.
I’m disappointed that Macron is being such an ambulance chaser. It’s pretty distasteful.
You’re actually tacky…. calling a horrible accident with huge loss of life…an incident. In the title of the post.
Also… its pretty weird that you think Macron, a president of a country, is a salesman for a company. What?
It isn’t distasteful that the FAA and US didn’t ground the plane til much after the rest of the world did? Is it because Boeing is a US company?
The FAA and USA caved into peer pressure.
Peer pressure or something like this?
https://edition.cnn.com/2019/03/13/investing/boeing-airline-compensation/index.html
European leaders being involved in the promotion of large commercial orders that benefit their country or consortium isn’t new though; it happens often.
It may seem iffy in the perspective of the recent ET disaster, but it was likely to be an item the two politicians would’ve discussed anyway, since ET is actually looking to buy more aircraft.
I agree with this. U.S. and European leaders advocate for Boeing and Airbus, respectively, all the time. I don’t see any evidence here they’re doing something different specifically to take advantage of the Max crash.
Just like what delta+aa+united did to emirates+etihad+qatar, or boeing to bombardier. Oh well…. There’s always a reason to point finger it seems, albeit for just a figure of speech…
Are we sure that this is happening in the wake of the Boeing crash? Macron has always been somewhat of an “economic nationalist” — at both the French and the European level — so I could see these discussions as having already been planned in advance of the crash, but now maybe being inaccurately contextualized as a response to the crash?
Moreover, if these countries and/or airlines want to talk Airbus planes, because they’re aware having the Max is now a liability in terms of passenger demand, why not respond to that wish to talk new planes?
It’s possible Macron may be responding to the crash — and, as you note, Boeing would do the same (look at the gloating press in the U.S. over the downfall of the A380!) — but I also think it’s equally possible these discussions were planned in advance of the crash and are now just being improperly framed by U.S. media.
Come on, the media article and this post are a bit sensational, aren’t they? State meetings like this take months to prepare and we’re probably planned long before the crash.
And in comparison to China or the US, EU leaders are a bit more settle in their industry promotion. Promoting your countries products is one thing, sanctioning, threatening or arresting citizens to influence business success is “promotion” on a whole nother level…
Yes, of course it’s tacky. But lest anyone think Boeing is some saintly organisation, remember the flurry , flood even, of decriers when the A320 first flew: and the barely disguised howls of “I told you so” when one crashed ( pilot error) at an air show in Europe. It might not have been Boeing directly but it was coming from those in the US aerospace industry broadly.
Just because Macron has a nice manner, and a charming wife, doesn’t mean he’s not a total drop kick.
Macron doing the airplane order diplomacy pretty well. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-china-airbus/china-agrees-to-buy-290-airbus-a320-planes-10-a350s-french-presidency-idUSKCN1R622F