The end of the Paris Air Show in 2025 was a shock to the global aviation industry: Airbus received 148 formal orders, while Boeing received few, according to Reuters, citing data from aviation consultants, the U. S. Aerospace Giant is deeply mired in trust. From the fatal 737 MAX crashes of 2018 and 2019 to the recent crash of Air India’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner, every accident has been a relentless wrench in confidence in the century-old shop. As Boeing struggles to breathe through the maelstrom of public opinion and regulatory pressure, its close partner, the Japanese aerospace industry, is under unprecedented pressure.
Boeing 787, “Quasi-japanese”
The crash of an Air India Boeing 787 Ahmedabad in western India on Monday sent shockwaves through the Japanese aviation industry.
The Asahi Shimbun reported that three domestic airlines operated a total of 141 aircraft in the same range. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism said recently that it had instructed Ana and three other large domestic airlines to ensure regular inspections of the aircraft’s airframes and engines as required, and asked Boeing and other parties to provide information related to the accident. But there are no plans to ground the aircraft.
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Ana owns 88 of the aircraft, while JAL has 45 and Zipair Tokyo has eight. Some of the 141 aircraft used engines from manufacturers other than those used in the accident.
An Airbus plane flies over a Boeing billboard during the Paris Air Show on June 17. Visual China
Since 2000, Boeing has been shifting some of its airliner parts production to Japanese and European companies to cut costs. Japanese-made components make up as much as 35 per cent of the 787 model, leading to a domestic Boeing 787 of “Quasi-japanese”. For example, the horizontal stabilizer plate actuators that make up the horizontal tail are provided by shimadzu, and the oil coolers for the Auxiliary power unit are supplied by Sumitomo Precision Industries, located in the city of Nizaki, Hyogo prefecture. There are also a large number of small and medium-sized Japanese enterprises involved in component manufacturing as secondary contractors to these enterprises. At the same time, Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways are giving priority to Boeing aircraft because of the long-term imbalance in japan-us trade. Since the 767, many Japanese companies that make parts have also gradually strengthened their ties to Boeing.
Japan’s reliance on Boeing is no accident. Wang Jia, a Japanese economist at the Institute of Economics at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, told the global times that “The main reason why the Japanese aviation industry has invested so much in Boeing 787 is because of the very deep industrial tie-up and technology cooperation between Japan and Boeing. Japan, for example, is home to more than 10% of the world’s Boeing 787 airliners and is the largest non-american supplier of Boeing parts. In addition, Japan’s partnership with industry giants such as Boeing is also an important option for realizing its aviation industry ambitions,” Wang said, for a long time, Japan’s civil aviation industry and Boeing Company has maintained an extremely close cooperative relationship, which is the result of Japan and the United States in the history, economy and strategy, and other multiple factors, it reflects Japan’s unique position in the global aviation industry chain and the choice of development path.
Now, this deep tie is turning into a huge risk for Japan’s aviation industry. “Boeing’s recent weakness may have a more obvious negative impact on the Japanese aerospace industry, and the impact will be multi-faceted and far-reaching,” said Wang Jia. Japanese companies that make components for Boeing, for example, will also face lower production and lower Capacity utilization as orders, production constraints and competitiveness decline. Japanese companies are also likely to face a crisis of trust and a tarnished brand image, as a loss of global trust in Boeing aircraft could indirectly affect the brand image of Japanese suppliers. Japanese companies also face uncertainties with Boeing about the development and investment of future new models.”
While Japanese companies are also supplying parts to Airbus, more than 50 per cent of Airbus’s parts supply network is European. Yamasaki, a professor of Ritsumeikan University at Ritsumeikan, said this could be an important reason why Japanese companies struggle to break into the Airbus chain. Whether to continue supporting Boeing or to try to get closer to Airbus, Japan appears to be at a“Decisive crossroads.”.
How Far Away is Japan from the dream of a“Big plane”?
Boeing’s storm of confidence continues, with Japan as its core partner bearing the brunt of shrinking orders and a tarnished reputation.
“Although Japan has an almost complete aviation industry chain and is deeply involved in the manufacture of top civil aircraft, its independently developed aircraft projects, such as the MRJ regional jet, have repeatedly failed,” Wang Yanan, an aviation expert at Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, told the global times, japan’s aviation manufacturing industry in some supporting areas with more advanced technology, but the whole machine manufacturing has been difficult to achieve success. He cited Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ decision in 2008 to set up the MRJ project to promote independent development. The Japanese government has given it a total of about 50 billion yen (2.43 billion yuan) . But six delays, including a design error and a breakdown, forced the company to 2023 in February.
“Japan has always wanted its aviation industry to achieve two goals: one is to integrate into the global aviation industry chain, and the other is to consolidate an industrial system capable of producing the entire aircraft of civil aviation. It should be said that Japan has basically achieved the first goal, but the second goal has been frustrated. This highlights the inherent contradiction in Japan’s civil aviation industry model: the top supporting capabilities have not been effectively translated into the independent breakthrough of the aircraft project,” Wang Yanan told reporters, japan has not been able to achieve a breakthrough in the whole machine manufacturing field, the main reason is not technical, but the strategic level of error. “Japan has been ‘big and small’ in building up its domestic aviation industry. This is mainly reflected in Japan’s civil aviation engineering complexity, arduous and long-term lack of understanding.”
Wang said the country had retained some of its aviation supply chain base after the war, but was now making passenger jets in a completely different environment than sixty years ago. And Japan spends surprisingly little on its budget for civilian airliners. By contrast, China, which is also committed to the development of civil aviation manufacturing industry, has been significantly stronger than Japan in terms of both policy support and investment.
Still, Japan has not given up plans to boost its domestic aviation industry. The government will support private companies in developing the next generation of airliners and will seek to set up final assembly plants and expand maintenance 2024 in the country, according to a plan released by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and industry, and the use of Japanese airframe, engine and equipment and other aspects of technology and experience.
Global Aviation: Safety and demand in headwinds
Airbus, the European aircraft maker, is the winner from the ongoing Boeing downturn at the Paris Air Show, further disrupting the global aviation manufacturing landscape, the frankfurt-based aviator website said Wednesday.
“The Air India tragedy has plunged the Boeing 787 Dreamliner into a safety spiral,” said Shukol Yusuf, founder of Endor Analytics, a singapore-based independent aviation consultancy, in a commentary published on the website of the Asia Pacific News Channel on the 23rd, the cause of the Boeing 787 crash has yet to be determined, but it has cast a new shadow over Boeing’s Resurrecting the Champ hopes. Before the crash, Boeing’s business was recovering from the“737 MAX crisis”. Boeing won more than 300 orders between May and June, with Qatari ordering up to 210 aircraft, including 130 Boeing 787 airliners, as a result of President Donald Trump’s visits to Middle Eastern countries.
The concept of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner was born more than 20 years ago, the report said, as Boeing grappled with demand for more fuel-efficient aircraft as fuel prices rose and regained its competitive edge over Airbus. The Japanese All Nippon Airways became the first customer to order 50 of the aircraft. The aircraft had carried more than 875m 2024 as of April, according to Boeing.
After the Air India crash, concerns and criticism about the plane increased. Air India said the preliminary findings of the crash in about 30 days, but the final report will take longer. Until then, Boeing has had to contend with passenger questions about the safety of its Boeing 787 aircraft. Supply chain challenges are also affecting production, affecting operators such as BA, Air New Zealand and Kenya Airways.
As the influence of Boeing and Airbus Waxes and wanes, the booths of Chinese airlines at the show garnered unprecedented attention. Comac announced a new partner for the C929 long-range jet at the Paris air show, according to Germany’s Aero Telegraph. The company has signed letters of intent with France’s Safran Group and American aerospace electronics company Krei.
However, Wang Guo Jia, a civil aviation expert and Guangdong University of Foreign Studies professor at the Southern Business School, told the global times that although Airbus is leading for the time being, the aviation manufacturing industry has experienced decades of precipitation, supply chain and market structure is highly stable, will not be a phase of the sudden events and instant disruption. If Boeing can learn from its mistakes and systematically address safety concerns, production quality and regulatory trust crises, it may yet regain its footing.
German media think, compared to Boeing and Airbus in the fight on orders drama, more attention should be paid to the current global aviation industry is far less prosperous than in the past. Despite strong demand at the show, the international aviation industry is still facing a tough situation, according to the Frankfurt Flyer website. Production has been hit by supply bottlenecks in parts and materials, with both Airbus and Boeing struggling to meet existing orders on time. Compared with the previous air show orders flooded in, this year’s orders fell significantly.
German TTW News Network 22, said the global airlines are in“Crisis Mode.”. The skies over the Middle East have become a danger zone in the wake of America’s surprise attack on Iran, and this is a real shock to the aviation industry.
The global civil aviation industry continues to assess how long flights in the Middle East should be grounded following the US attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, Hong kong-based Yonhap News reported. Singapore Airlines said on the 22nd because of the changing situation, after a safety assessment has been canceled Singapore flights to Dubai. Air France-klm said on the 22nd that it had cancelled flights between Dubai and Riyadh on the 22nd and 23rd. British Airways also canceled 22 round-trip flights between Dubai and Doha. American Airlines suspended flights to Qatar just days before the strike. Some international airlines are also concerned that international oil prices could surge further in the wake of US air strikes on Iran, leading to higher jet fuel costs.