Boeing and Airbus have been locked in a bitter fight for global dominance since the 1970s. Now a super duopoly, the transatlantic aerospace giants, which enjoy more or less equal market share, have soared above the rest of the competition to become the only major jet airliner manufacturers in the world. We take a look back at the history behind the aviation industry's most intense rivalry.

Back in late 1970, Boeing was the undisputed king of the skies. The American aviation corporation had just unveiled the iconic 747 jumbo jet, and was sitting on its laurels as the world's number one jet airliner manufacturer, having risen spectacularly above the competition, which included the likes of Lockheed and McDonnell Douglas Corporation.

Founded in Seattle in 1916 by aviation pioneer William Boeing, the company that bears his name was a leader in all-metal aircraft construction by the 1930s. It went on to launch America's first commercial jetliner, the 707, in 1958, the same year that Frank Sinatra's Come Fly with Me was released, a song and album that has become synonymous with air travel. In fact Sinatra liked the 707 so much he went on to buy his own jet in 1964. Boeing went on to introduce the massively successful 727 in 1962, followed by the 737 in 1967.

At the start of the 1970s Boeing was the go-to manufacturer for countless American and foreign airlines. Competing aircraft such as the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 (pictured) and Lockheed L-1011 TriStar just couldn't match Boeing in terms of sales. The Washington-based corporation seemed untouchable.

But a consortium of failing European aviation companies was set to change all that. Together with their respective governments, the group of relatively small West German, French, British and Spanish firms came to the realisation they could only take on Boeing if they joined forces, pooling both resources and talent. 

Airbus was formed in December 1970 with the French city of Toulouse selected as its headquarters. The corporation's debut plane, the A300, took to the skies in 1972 and entered service with Air France in 1974.

The wide-body mid-range jet plane was the first of its kind to use composite materials, and boasted a number of other innovations that went down well with the world's airlines. Boeing couldn't fail to notice a serious competitor had arrived on the scene.

Still, Airbus struggled to bag large orders at first. But after employing some cunning sales tactics that included heavily discounting planes and offering free six-month trials, the Old World aviation company landed its first major American client in 1978 when Eastern Air Lines ordered 23 A300s for $778 million – the equivalent of $3.1 billion (£2.5bn) today.

Airbus launched an even more technologically advanced aircraft in 1978, the A310. By the end of the decade, the European company had 256 orders for the A300 family, but still had some way to go to catch up with its American nemesis.

Boeing responded by debuting the 767, which had its maiden flight in September 1981. The medium-range plane ended up having the edge on the Airbus A300. To date, a total of 1,135 Boeing 767s have been produced. The final tally for the A300 is 561.

In fact, Airbus didn't become a serious rival to Boeing until the late 1980s with the delivery of the first A320 aircraft. Brimming with the latest technology, the narrow-body short to mid-range plane competed directly with the Boeing 737, the best-selling commercial jet airliner of all time.

A whopping 400 orders were placed the A320 before the plane even got off the ground and the aircraft family went on to become one of the top sellers in history, though the Boeing 737 and its variants have shifted more units, a total of 10,550 against 8,805 for the A320 family.

Airbus cemented itself as Boeing's only major rival during the 1990s. The European group launched the wide-body A340 and A330 in 1993 and 1994, making further inroads into a market in which Boeing had long been dominant and unthreatened.

Boeing was in full fight-back mode by the mid 1990s. The Seattle-headquartered corporation tightened its hold over the long haul market by launching the 777, and froze Airbus out of the US in a significant way by signing a slew of exclusive deals, including an agreement to be the sole supplier of aircraft to American Airlines over a period of 20 years. In 1997, Boeing dominated 60% of the commercial aircraft market, and had plans to grow further...

One of the biggest moves to take over the market was made in 1997 when Boeing purchased one of the business's last meaningful US competitors McDonnell Douglas for the princely sum of $13 billion, but had to relinquish its exclusive 20-year contracts as a result. In reality, they all but remained.

The Boeing/Airbus rivalry came to a head in May 2005 when the US Government filed a case with the World Trade Organization (WTO) accusing Airbus of benefiting from illegal EU subsidies. The EU hit back by filing a counter-complaint denouncing the US Government for its overly generous support of Boeing.

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The epic litigation is still ongoing. Numerous appeals and counter-appeals have overturned a number of rulings. Most recently, the WTO ruled against the US Government, having ruled in its favour in the past, but the judgment is bound to be challenged.

The US Government's biggest beef concerns the subsidies and tax breaks Airbus receives from four European nations, Germany, France, the UK and Spain. They represent a revenue contribution of 27.9%, while subsidies and tax breaks make up just 12.8% of Boeing's income.

On the other hand, Boeing is supported in a big way by the state via lucrative government and military contracts, which is the EU's major gripe. Airbus is effectively left out of the tendering process for US government and military aviation projects, much to its dismay.

Giving as good as it got, Airbus hatched a plan to hit Boeing where it hurts. During the late 1990s, the European company started developing a supersized wide-body aircraft to take on the mighty double-decker 747. Airbus's plan to launch a plane that could rival the 747 came to fruition in 2005 with the maiden flight of the A380. Airbus ploughed $25 billion (£19.7bn) into developing the super jumbo wide-body jet, which can hold up to 853 passengers.

However, while Airbus planned to sell 1,200 A380 jets, only 237 have been built. Orders have been few and far between. Apart from the likes of Singapore Airlines and Emirates, few airlines have splurged on the $446 million (£351m) plane. No doubt crestfallen, Airbus recently announced that production would cease in 2021.

Boeing has had its own nightmares to contend with, most notably the 737 Max, which first flew in 2016. Two fatal crashes in October 2018 and March 2019 have resulted in the grounding of the aircraft by regulators, a painful blow for Boeing, which has seen orders drop across the board.

Boeing and Airbus have long-competed to produce the world's most lightweight fuel-efficient jet airliners. Boeing introduced the light on energy 787 Dreamliner in 2011 while Airbus launched the even more planet-conscious A350 in 2015.

Getting down to each corporation's financials, Airbus posted revenues of €64 billion ($72.7bn/£57.5bn) last year. The European group's profits amounted to €5.048 billion ($5.7bn/£4.5bn). At the time of writing, its share price is €125.32($142.29/£112.55), making for a market cap of €97.01 billion ($110bn/£87bn).

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But Boeing beats Airbus when it comes to numbers. The US corporation turned over $101 billion (£79.5bn) in 2018 and reported profits of $10.4 billion (£8.2bn). Its share price at the time of writing is $364 (£287), which gives a market cap of $205.7 billion (£162bn).

In 2012 Airbus surpassed Boeing in the number of orders received and held on to the top spot until 2017. Last year, the European firm secured a total of 747 new orders, an ironic number that must have given the executives at Boeing a giggle. Airbus may have the last laugh, however, after American Airlines ordered 50 A321XLR planes earlier this month.

The competition has never been tighter. A total of 893 new orders put Boeing back in number one position last year. But the grounding of the 737 Max has of course affected this year's forecast. That said, Boeing now expects to take up to 890 orders in 2019, aping Airbus' projection. 

Both Boeing and Airbus funnel colossal sums of money into research and development, but which aviation titan comes out on top? Boeing is ahead at the moment. The US corporation splurged $3.3 billion (£2.6bn) on innovation last year whereas Airbus devoted $2.5 billion (£2bn), but Airbus has actually spent more in the past.

Right now there are few credible contenders that could break the duopoly and whether Boeing or Airbus comes out on top is anyone's guess. What is certain is the future looks very bright for the jet airliner industry. China for instance will require thousands of jets over the coming years. Be that as it may, China presents both an opportunity and a threat for Boeing and Airbus. The country's state-owned COMAC is emerging as a strong potential competitor and could become a formidable rival in the not too distant future.

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