Airbus and Boeing Will Keep Making Jets That Airlines Can’t Buy

For decades, the competition between Airbus SE and Boeing Co. has centered on issues such as which could build the biggest jumbo jet or log the most multibillion-dollar sales each year. Then the coronavirus hit. Now the world’s two dominant plane makers will battle to see which one can best weather an unprecedented downturn in air travel that’s emptied the wallets of the airlines that buy their planes.

With new orders dormant, the challenge is to cut costs and protect cash while keeping factory systems and global webs of suppliers operating at a high enough pace to retain essential skills and be ready to bounce back when the crisis passes. Getting the balance right will be tough, given that Airbus and Boeing together employ almost 300,000 people and sell aircraft that typically take a year to build. Walking this tightrope is also expensive: In the second quarter, Boeing burned through $5.6 billion in cash; Airbus, $5.2 billion. And things are set to get tougher, as a fresh surge in infections prompts new travel restrictions worldwide.