Compare and contrast Boeing and Airbus technological changes

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READ CAREFULLY. I HAVE ATTACHED THE INSTRUCTIONS AS WELL

Links needed:

Black pilots allege racial discrimination at United Airlines

https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly/company/global-citizenship/diversity-initiatives.html

Also, see attached files

We discussed the 5 forces that define an industry in class. You also read the PPT on “External Environment” that is uploaded under “Course Documents”. It contains information about the five forces.

In defending his famous 5-Forces model, Michael Porter had suggested (video 13:11 mins.) that the airline industry was an example of a “bad” industry, where the five forces were against incumbents.

Also, in his 2008 HBR article (PDF, pp. 78-93), he has a chart on page 83 where airlines are at the bottom of the list (average ROIC 1992-2006 was 5.9%, the lowest, compared to >40% for security brokers, and >37% for soft drinks and packaged software).

However, four years after Porter’s assertions (in 2012), we heard a different story (NY Times article) it appears that now the incumbents were sitting pretty. This trend has continued all the way till 2017 (NY Times article).

Please write a 1000 word essay (double spaced, 12 pt. font) with an original title where I would like you to comment on the following areas:

Compare and contrast Boeing and Airbus technological changes from the late 90s to present– about 500 words.

What types of aircraft and fleets have been produced to meet the global demand? Are legacy airlines making larger orders? What type of orders are being made by new cost leader carriers?
In general, what are your observations? Are airlines ordering larger or smaller aircrafts? What are the trends? Are consumers making choices in terms of seat comfort and/or space? Please elaborate with specific airline examples.
Strategically for the industry, have circumstances changed since 2008? Is Porter’s argument flawed? Support your claims with quantitative data.
Please conduct external research (in addition to the materials provided) and present your data in graphs and/or tables.
Based on your research and report, what have been the managerial implications for those leading the airline industry?

Airlines and the ethics of conducting business. Due to the nature of the air transport industry and all of the ‘dilemmas’ associated with travel, please identify and pin-point some of the critical moral, ethical, and diversity issues facing the industry – about 500 words.
Based on past course learnings, discuss some of the appropriate frameworks that can apply in trying to analyze the ethical problems and their alternative solutions in addressing the critical issues for the airline industry.
In terms of sustainability, diversity and innovation, have airlines made a leap in implementing more sustainable solutions (i.e. green engines, fuel consumption, safety etc.)?
Of late, airlines are facing a crisis of legitimacy surrounding the unsustainability of air travel. There is some multilateral attention (link to an article) being paid to the problem, and some firms have also tried to address this (link to an article). Is this a problem that airline firms need to take seriously? Suggest one strategic action they should take in this regard.
Are there any technology issues that need to be addressed? (Remember, the internet was especially unkind to the airlines, when passengers used their enhanced access to information to bargain down prices. How did the airlines solve this problem? You can argue that technology is incidental here (regulation, fuel prices and other issues might be more explanatory), but do offer an assessment on the role of technology in this industry.
Do diverse groups of stakeholders experience United as a fair organization, (link to an article) or can a case be made that they discriminate (link to an article) within stakeholder groups?