Airbus takes shot at Boeing in new ad
Nov 27, 2012, 1:15 PM | Updated: 2:24 pm
Airbus accuses Boeing of lying about the performance of its new planes in a new ad. (Airbus image)
(Airbus image)
A new Airbus ad is raising plenty of eyebrows by accusing Boeing of lying about the performance of its new planes.
The ad, running in several aviation trade magazines, including Aviation Week, features an image of a Boeing jet with its nose stretched like Pinocchio, with the headline “Why is our competitor stretching the truth?”
It says Boeing is “sleepless in Seattle,” calling the new 737 Max and 747 models “derivatives of 1960s designs.”
Airbus sales chief John Leahy tells Reuters the European aircraft maker that the Pinocchio theme is in response to recent Boeing ads claiming a massive advantage for Boeing aircraft over Airbus models.
“They are blatantly misrepresenting the truth by orders of magnitude,” Leahy told Reuters. “What is going on is just over the top.”
“We believe in – and history has shown – the superior performance of our products and services. We stand behind our performance claims,” said Boeing Commercial Airplanes spokesman Marc Birtel.
“Ultimately, our customers will decide based on their experience and analysis relative to their needs,” he told Reuters.
Boeing claims its 737 MAX 8 will cost eight percent less to operate per seat than the revamped Airbus A320neo. But Airbus argues its jet has a 3.3 percent cost advantage per seat.
