"After the loss of a big Japan Airlines jet order to Airbus, rival ANA looks like a better bet to stick with Boeing. And at least for the near term, including 777X development, outsourcing of Boeing jet manufacturing to Japan will continue.
Boeing Commercial Airplanes chief Ray Conner told an audience in Seattle a year ago that "there is not a relationship in the world like the one we have with Japan."
That relationship was shaken this week when Japan Airlines (JAL) announced a blockbuster deal to buy A350 jets from Airbus.
But the Boeing-Japan fortress isn't about to crumble quickly, say close observers.
Near term, party politics in Japan gives Boeing an edge over Airbus for a pending big jet order by the second big Japanese airline, All Nippon Airways (ANA).
And Japanese manufacturing partners will likely supply all the fuselage panels on Boeing's soon-to-be-launched 777X program, just as they do for today's 777.
Long term, though, Airbus should gain further market share in Japan and the dual sourcing by the airlines could spread to the Japanese manufacturers.
"There is no agreement between Japan and Boeing that we will cooperate forever," said, Norio Yamanouchi, who played a lead role in creating and developing the close relationship between Boeing and Japan. "It might not be a bad idea for Japan to work with Airbus on future airplane programs."
A former top Boeing executive, who still works in the aviation business and asked for anonymity, said "it's inevitable Airbus will continue to chip away at Boeing's dominance in Japan."
Nevertheless, said analyst Adam Pilarski of consulting firm Avitas, Japan's big aircraft-parts manufacturers - especially Mitsubishi, Kawasaki and Fuji, the three "heavies" - remain "super critical to Boeing."
Source : NewsOnJapan
