“I prefer to fly Airbus, my family takes care of me”: a short story by Bruno Le Maire about Boeing

Bruno Le Maire risks making enemies on the other side of the Atlantic. France’s economy minister joked about the sticky situation facing planemaker Boeing on Tuesday during a European conference in Berlin.

The US manufacturer is in turmoil after several incidents recently reignited controversy over the reliability of its models, including the iconic 737 Max. In 2018 and 2019, two 737 Max crashes killed 346 people and led to twenty months of grounding and production halts.

Last January, the door of one of the planes owned by Alaska Airlines was torn off mid-flight, which greatly frightened passengers. The plane was finally able to land safely, but images of the incident went viral around the world.

An Federal Aviation Administration audit recently found dozens of problems with the production of the 737 Max.

Therefore, in his speech at the Europe 2024 conference, organized in Berlin by several German media, Bruno Le Maire mentioned these failures to praise the success of Airbus, Boeing’s European rival.

“Europe produces the best aircraft”

“In the 20th century, Europe produced the best machines, the best airplanes, the best cars and the best chemicals,” the French minister began, before addressing Guillaume Faury, the head of Airbus, who was present in public. “Europe continues to produce the best aircraft, dear Guillaume Faury, by a wide margin,” opined Bruno Le Maire, before adding: “I prefer the Airbus situation to the Boeing one. »

“And now I prefer to fly Airbus than Boeing, my family takes care of me too,” he joked then, causing laughter in the audience.

Airbus boss calms situation

In making this attack on Boeing, the French economy minister insisted on the need to reduce the number of European standards, which he believes are hampering industrial production on the Old Continent. “We fought price inflation. I suggest you fight inflation according to standards. Together with my friend Robert Habeck (his German colleague), we want to immediately begin de-bureaucratization of European construction,” he said.

According to BFMTV, the head of Airbus then spoke at the same podium and wanted to calm the situation, saying that he was “dissatisfied” with the problems of his competitor. “Aviation receives a lot of attention from a safety point of view,” he recalled. I consider humility, not complacency. »