Boeing's 787 Dreamliner and the Decline of Innovation

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

11. That is the least of the 787's problems

Airbus has assembled planes like that for forty years.

The problem was that when Boeing decided they had to become more like Airbus and especially when it came to supply chain they skipped the most important part of the story. The Airbus consortium members were not random industrial interests that answered RFP's with the lowest bid, they were independent commercial aircraft makers. Hawker Siddeley and Aerospatiale had both independently developed and delivered commercial jets.

Boeing sought out their partners for the 787 based on the government subsidies available in a given jurisdiction. Of course had they sought out partners based on proven ability rather than subsidies they wouldn't have realized the savings the 787 was intended to maximize.

The real problem with the 787 is the program may very well never turn a profit.