Airbus Chief Executive Fabrice Brégier slammed Boeing Co when he met with the AAPA on March 20, saying Boeing’s planned 777X wide-body airliner is the most subsidised aircraft in the world.
The E.U. and the U.S. have been at loggerheads for years over claims and counter-claims of unfair subsidies for their commercial aircraft building champions, and are engaged in a protracted dispute inside the World Trade Organization that will take years to resolve. For its part, Boeing claims that Airbus benefits from easy-terms aircraft program launch aid from the European states where it has industrial operations.
Speaking to over 20 members at a breakfast at Le Procope restaurant, Mr. Brégier said Boeing is receiving $8.7 billion in subsidies and tax breaks to locate production of the 777X in Washington State, despite a WTO ruling on the Boeing 787 that outlawed such aid, and called the situation a “global scandal.”
Mr. Brégier was our guest a few days before announcing a series of deals with China that were announced during the state visit of Chinese president Xi Jinping. He said Airbus sees great potential for sales of the double-decker A380 superjumbo in China because airports are becoming increasingly congested and the number of landing slots will be limited even if the Chinese authorities have a massive program of airport construction.
Mr. Brégier briefly touched on the ongoing search for the missing Malaysian Airlines airliner, and said the international aviation authorities and airlines have still to adopt recommendations that commercial aircraft be equipped with new types of flight recorders that can make it easier to locate downed aircraft.
He also touched on the French business environment, saying that one of the main problems in the country is that it isn’t friendly toward business and that its people are only now starting to realize that earning money isn’t something reprehensible.
-David Pearson