It's true that both Airbus and Boeing have a huge backlog of orders for aircraft at the moment, with a lot of growth in air travel in Asia. However, the airlin

It's true that both Airbus and Boeing have a huge backlog of orders for aircraft at the moment, with a lot of growth in air travel in Asia. However, the airline industry is cyclical and the current boom might be particularly big because of very low interest rates. Many aircraft are bought and leased through third party companies and everything is heavily financialised (these days, what isn't?). Additionally there are manufacturers (including a Chinese company) trying to break into the short haul market. If there is a large bust there will be a lot of orders cancelled and these cancellations may hit Boeing harder than it's competitors. A bad knock on internal and external confidence in both Boeing and the FAA could have lasting repercussions, Boeing might find it harder and slower to develop new aircraft if they and the FAA have to rebuild institutional capability and then convince the world that they have done so. The recent investigation by the Seattle Times makes for grim reading: https://www.seattletimes.com/business/boeing-aerospace/failed-certification-faa-missed-safety-issues-in-the-737-max-system-implicated-in-the-lion-air-crash/ https://www.seattletimes.com/business/boeing-aerospace/faile...