Boeing Co. is coming to this year’s Paris Air show with some hard choices that will go far in determining who comes out on top in the jetliner duopoly it shares with Airbus SE.
Reeling from the grounding of its most important aircraft in the wake of two deadly crashes, Boeing needs to reconsider its timeline and strategy for new models. Piling on pressure is Airbus’s likely unveiling of a long-range variant of its A321 model, potentially siphoning off more business from its US rival in the increasingly important market for midrange planes.
The cat-and-mouse game over jets to be rolled out during the next decade is one of the top issues for Boeing Chief Executive Officer Dennis Muilenburg as he meets customers and faces the public at the industry’s biggest gathering, which kicks off June 17 on an airfield north of Paris.
