But coming up with these technological leaps is an undertaking that, historically at least, can exceed the cost of the airline itself. Commercial failure of one plane can be fatal for a company.
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In a world of delays, time is money. Boeing posted a loss of $US11.8 billion in 2024, bringing total losses since 2019 when the troubles began, to more than $35 billion.
It was within this cycle of mammoth risk – followed by potentially sustained reward – that the Dreamliner was successfully launched in 2011.
After an issue with lithium batteries grounded the plane for four months in 2013 before being resolved, the prospect now that the Dreamliner could acquire the taint of a 737 Max-level issue, real or imagined, would be an unwelcome challenge for Boeing.
The crash at Ahmedabad happened a day ago. It will take months before investigators can determine the cause of the incident, which could be human error.
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It’s difficult to overstate how important Boeing has been for aviation. Boeing designed the basic shape of passenger jet aircraft we use today, inspired by the B-52 bomber. Boeing then created the 707, which was the first successful major passenger jet, and the Boeing 747 transformed intercontinental travel.
The pace of a journey between multi-year development costs for a plane balanced against the multi-year pay-off can be glacial.
The cycle that Boeing has mastered for the better part of a century has been thrown out of sync by a series of events that it can control: production issues, industrial relations and design strategy but also things it can’t control: COVID fall-out, public perceptions, regulatory decision-making.
Even US President Donald Trump has been frustrated at Boeing for the delays to the production of (in his mind) “his” all-important Air Force One.
But it’s not all bad news: in March, Boeing beat out Lockheed Martin to build the next-generation replacement to the F-22 Raptor.
And before the Air India crash, in the first three months of 2025, Boeing’s loss had narrowed to $US31 million, compared with the previous year.
Given the mountain of challenges, the fate of Boeing appears on the edge once more.
It’s in these moments when perceptions matter more. Today the perception around Boeing, fairly or not, risks being crystallised in these tragic videos of this Air India Dreamliner sinking towards the earth before impact.
Either the crash will be a catalyst of Boeing’s inevitable decline. Or the crash, and its tragic aftermath, will be yet another headwind for the plane-maker to power through.
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