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Boeing crisis opens door for Airbus to win new Middle East deals

PORTLAND, OREGON - JANUARY 9: An Alaska Airlines Embraer aircraft is seen taking off at Portland International Airport on January 9, 2024 in Portland, Oregon. NTSB investigators are continuing their inspection on the Alaska Airlines N704AL Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft following a midair fuselage blowout on Friday, January 5. None of the 171 passengers and six crew members were seriously injured. (Photo by Mathieu Lewis-Rolland/Getty Images)
To:

Al-Monitor Readers

From:

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst, Al-Monitor

Date:

Jan. 28, 2024

Bottom Line:

Weeks after a cabin panel blew off a brand-new Boeing plane midflight on Jan. 5, 2024, repercussions are mounting for the US aerospace giant, which has been on a hot streak in the Middle East after winning landmark orders cumulatively worth over $100 billion last year. Key US customers are increasingly voicing displeasure with Boeing’s ongoing manufacturing problems, with United Airlines reporting on Jan. 23 that it will consider alternatives to the planemaker’s next model. Fallout could soon spread to the Middle East, where several potential Boeing deals could be impacted—opening the door for rival Airbus to capitalize despite recent turbulence of its own.