Sir - The Comment "Hands off" (Flight International, 21-27 May) serves only the narrow, although legitimate, commercial interests of Boeing/McDonnell Douglas (MDC). For that reason, your position is inappropriate to the extreme and reflects a severe lack of strategic foresight by the author.
The commercial-aircraft manufacturing business, unlike many, plays only in a global market. Boeing has held a share of about 65% for many years. Such a powerful position allows that company to act as a near-perfect monopolistic enterprise, tending to create the associated disadvantages for the global community, compared with a healthy market with multiple players of similar strength.
Adding to such a controlling dominance the 5% or so market share which MDC has held, along with the spares business, the inside track for a substantial replacement market, the MDC infrastructure and manufacturing (with an in-place, trained, workforce) enhances Boeing's commercial strength intolerably in the direction of a perfect monopoly.
That may happen through boardroom decisions, not through customer choices.
A significant role which government agencies must play is to set framework conditions which force multiple players to compete with each other to the benefit of the consumer and which ensure that a monopoly is unlikely to emerge.
If there has ever been such a case, the Boeing/MDC merger is one. European Commissioner Van Miert must be applauded, not attacked, for his effort.
To keep the global marketplace functioning requires that global rules be available. These must be established by the global community, not just by the will of one "supercompany" or "superpower".
Jürgen Hoeck
Soest, Germany
Source: Flight International
