Airbus Just Bagged $10B in Orders at Paris—And Boeing Was Nowhere to Be Seen

So Here’s What Went Down

You know the Paris Air Show, right? That massive event where plane makers show off their latest toys and airlines throw around billions like it’s Monopoly money? Well, this year was… different. Airbus basically owned the place—$10 billion worth of orders, backslaps all around. Meanwhile Boeing? Crickets. And honestly, it’s not hard to see why. After everything that’s happened—safety scandals, that Air India disaster, regulators breathing down their neck—Boeing’s playing catch-up while Airbus is out here winning. Let me break it down for you.

Airbus Was On Fire (In a Good Way)

Man, Airbus didn’t just show up—they brought the whole damn bakery. IndiGo went all in on their A320neos (those narrow-body jets everyone loves), Air Lease Corporation stacked up more A321neos… you get the picture. $10 billion. Just like that. And here’s the thing: airlines aren’t stupid. They want planes that won’t, you know, fall out of the sky. Airbus’s A320neo? Sips fuel like it’s expensive whiskey—15% more efficient than older models. Meanwhile Boeing’s 737 MAX still has that sketchy reputation hanging over it. “Airlines want certainty, not crossed fingers,” says Claire Dubois, an analyst who knows her stuff. Can’t argue with that.

Where Was Boeing? Oh Right—Fighting Fires

Remember when Boeing used to go toe-to-toe with Airbus at these events? Yeah, not this time. They barely made a peep. Between the Air India mess, regulators crawling all over them, and production delays stacking up… let’s just say they’ve got bigger problems than press conferences. “They’re not even in the game right now,” some insider told me. Kinda wild when you think about 2019, when both companies were racking up $30 billion orders like it was nothing. Now? Boeing’s order book looks thinner than airplane toilet paper.

That Air India Crash Changed Everything

Okay, full disclosure—we still don’t know exactly what went wrong with that 737 MAX. But here’s what we do know: it scared the hell out of airlines. Like, “we’re switching to Airbus” scared. Air India’s CEO Rakesh Sharma put it bluntly: “Trust’s easy to lose and hard to get back.” And Boeing’s response? The usual—factory audits, quality control promises, blah blah. “They need to actually fix things, not just talk about fixing them,” Dubois added. Ouch.

What This Means for the Industry

Here’s where it gets interesting. Airbus isn’t just winning—they’re changing the game. With Boeing stuck in the penalty box, Airbus is grabbing market share left and right, especially in Asia. And don’t sleep on China’s COMAC sneaking in with their cheaper C919 jets. The old Airbus-Boeing duopoly? Not so untouchable anymore. Oh, and defense contracts are becoming a bigger deal too—Boeing’s still strong there, but Airbus is coming hard. “The next battleground,” as one Airbus Defense guy put it.

Fuel Efficiency Isn’t Just Nice—It’s Everything

Let me put it this way: airlines care about two things right now—not going bankrupt and looking green. Airbus’s fuel-sipping A320neo checks both boxes. With hydrogen and sustainable fuels becoming a thing (check out ERM’s 2022 report if you don’t believe me), Airbus is positioned perfectly. “The future’s coming fast,” one exec told me. “And we’re driving.”

The Bottom Line

This air show made one thing crystal clear: Airbus is flying high while Boeing’s stuck in turbulence. That $10 billion order haul? That’s not just money—it’s a statement. The next big test comes at Farnborough. Can Boeing pull off a miracle comeback? Or will Airbus keep running away with it? Either way, grab some popcorn—this rivalry just got spicy.

Source: Financial Times – Companies