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Boeing & Airbus

The Boeing Company
The Boeing Company is a major aerospace and defense corporation, originally founded by Willaim E. Boeing. Its international headquarters is in Chicago, Illinois, USA. By revenue, Boeing is the largest global aircraf manufacturer, by orders and deliveries, and the second-largest aerospace and defense contractor in the world.
Boeing has long been one of the world's largest civil aircraft companies. In 2006, it took 55% of global commercial aircraft orders for the first time since 2000. The largest exporter in the United States, Boeing's stock is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
History of Boeing Company

Boeing was incorporated in Seattle, Washington by William E. Boeing, on July 15, 1916, as "Pacific Aero Products Co." On May 9, 1917, the company became the "Boeing Airplane Company". William E. Boeing had studied at Yale University and worked initially in the timber industry, where he became wealthy and acquired knowledge about wooden structures. This knowledge would prove invaluable in his subsequent design and assembly of airplanes.

In 1933 the revolutionary Boeing 247 was introduced. Boeing built the first sixty aircraft exclusively for its own airline operations. This badly hurt competing airlines, and was typical of the anti-competitive corporate behavior that the US government sought to prohibit at the time.

The Air Mail Act of 1934 prohibited airlines and manufacturers from being under the same corporate umbrella, so the company split into three smaller companies - Boeing Airplane Company, United Airlines, and United Aircraft Corporation, the precursor to United Technologies. As a result, William Boeing sold off his shares.

Shortly after, an agreement with Pan American World Airways (Pan Am) was reached, to develop and build a commercial flying boat able to carry passengers on transoceanic routes.

In the mid-1950s technology had advanced significantly, which gave Boeing the opportunity to develop and...