Airbus vs Boeing: Founders, CEOs and History
Airbus was founded in 1970 by Henri Ziegler, Roger Béteille, Felix Kracht and is led by Guillaume Faury. Boeing was founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing, George Conrad Westervelt and is led by Kelly Ortberg.
Company facts
Founders
Airbus
Henri Ziegler
Ziegler helped organise the French and German partnership behind Airbus Industrie.
Roger Béteille
Airbus describes Béteille as a founding father and records his role as senior vice president of engineering in 1970.
Felix Kracht
Kracht helped organise the cross-border production system used for the A300.
Franz Josef Strauss
Airbus describes Strauss as one of its co-founders in the early 1970s.
Boeing
William E. Boeing
The Boeing Company was founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing, a wealthy timber merchant, and George Conrad Westervelt, an US Navy engineer.
George Conrad Westervelt
George Conrad Westervelt occupies an unusual position in aviation history: a co-founder of what became the world's largest aerospace company who departed before the company was officially incorporated and whose subsequent contributions to aviation, while disti…
CEOs and their tenures
Airbus
- Noël Forgeard2005–2006
Co-Chief Executive Officer, EADS
Served as EADS co-CEO after previously leading Airbus.
Source - Louis Gallois2007–2012
Chief Executive Officer, EADS
Served as EADS CEO during the A380 recovery and Power8 restructuring period.
Source - Tom Enders2012–2019
Chief Executive Officer
Led EADS and then Airbus through the 2014 and 2017 name and organisation changes.
Source - Guillaume Faury2019–present
Chief Executive Officer
Appointed CEO on 10 April 2019 after leading Airbus Commercial Aircraft.
Source
Boeing
- William McPherson Allen1945–1968
Chief Executive Officer
A lawyer who, as president, bet Boeing on the 367-80 jet prototype in 1952, leading to the 707 in 1958, and later launched the 727, 737 and 747.
Source - Thornton Wilson1969–1986
Chief Executive Officer
An engineer known as 'T' who cut the workforce deeply during the 1969-1971 'Boeing Bust' after the 747 launch, then launched the 757 and 767.
Source - Frank Shrontz1986–1996
Chief Executive Officer
Launched the 777 in 1990 and led Boeing through the early-1990s aviation downturn.
Source - Philip M. Condit1996–2003
Chief Executive Officer
An engineer who led the 777 program, became CEO in 1996, completed the McDonnell Douglas merger in 1997 and moved headquarters from Seattle to Chicago in 2001. He resigned in December 2003 amid the tanker procurement scandal.
Source - Harry Stonecipher2003–2005
Chief Executive Officer
The former McDonnell Douglas CEO returned from retirement in December 2003 after Phil Condit resigned over the Air Force tanker-lease scandal. The board forced him out in March 2005 over a relationship with a female executive that broke company policy.
Source - James McNerney2005–2015
Chief Executive Officer
A former 3M chief executive hired in July 2005. He oversaw the 787 Dreamliner's delayed entry into service in 2011, launched the 737 MAX (2011) and 777X (2013), and pushed suppliers and labor hard on cost.
Source - James A. Bell2005–2005
Chief Executive Officer
Boeing's chief financial officer, who served as interim CEO from March to June 2005 after Harry Stonecipher's resignation.
Source - Dennis Muilenburg2015–2019
Chief Executive Officer
A Boeing engineer who became CEO in July 2015 and chairman in 2016. He led the company through the Lion Air (2018) and Ethiopian Airlines (2019) 737 MAX crashes and the worldwide grounding, and was fired in December 2019.
Source - Dave Calhoun2020–2024
Chief Executive Officer
A Boeing director and former GE executive who took over in January 2020 after Dennis Muilenburg was fired.
Source - Kelly Ortberg2024–present
President and Chief Executive Officer
Ortberg became Boeing's president and CEO on August 8, 2024, recruited from outside after more than 35 years in aerospace, including running Rockwell Collins as CEO from 2013 through its sale to United Technologies (later RTX).
Source
Timeline: Airbus and Boeing side by side
1916Boeing
Pacific Aero Products Company Incorporated
William Boeing incorporates Pacific Aero Products Co. on July 15, 1916 in Seattle, a month after the B&W seaplane he built with George Conrad Westervelt first flew from Lake Union on June 15.
1917Boeing
Renamed The Boeing Airplane Company; First Military Contract
The company is renamed The Boeing Airplane Company in April 1917 following co-founder George Westervelt's return to active Navy duty, and secures its first meaningful military contract when the U.S. Navy orders the improved Model C floatplane.
1927Boeing
Boeing Air Transport Wins San Francisco-Chicago Airmail Route
Boeing forms Boeing Air Transport and wins the U.S. Post Office airmail contract for the San Francisco to Chicago route, the most commercially valuable domestic airmail route, initiating Boeing's involvement in commercial aviation beyond manufacturing.
1933Boeing
Boeing 247 Introduced as the First Modern Airliner
Boeing introduces the Model 247, widely recognized as the world's first modern commercial airliner, featuring all-metal construction, retractable landing gear, a cantilevered wing, and variable-pitch propellers.
1954Boeing
Dash 80 Jet Prototype First Flies
The 367-80, or Dash 80, first flies on July 15, 1954, the company's 38th anniversary. Funded with about $16 million of Boeing's own money, it leads to the KC-135 tanker for the Air Force and the 707 airliner, which enters service with Pan Am in 1958.
1969Boeing
Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet Makes First Flight
The 747, the first wide-body jetliner, first flies on February 9, 1969 and enters service with Pan Am in January 1970.
1970Airbus
Airbus Industrie Launched
Airbus Industrie GIE was formally launched on 18 December 1970.
1972Airbus
A300 First Flight
The A300B1 made its first flight on 28 October 1972.
1987Airbus
A320 First Flight
The first A320 flew on 22 February 1987.
1992Airbus
Eurocopter Formed
Aérospatiale and DASA helicopter operations combined as Eurocopter.
1994Boeing
Boeing 777 First Flight
The Boeing 777, the world's largest twin-engine commercial aircraft and the first airliner designed entirely using computer-aided design tools without physical mock-ups, makes its inaugural flight on June 12, 1994.
1997Boeing
Boeing Merges with McDonnell Douglas
Boeing completes its $13.3 billion acquisition of McDonnell Douglas, creating a single dominant American aerospace and defense company and ending more than two decades of three-way commercial aircraft competition.
2000Airbus
EADS Formed and Listed
Aérospatiale-Matra, DASA and CASA formed EADS and listed it in three countries.
2001Airbus
Airbus Integrated
The Airbus consortium became a fully owned EADS subsidiary.
2005Airbus
A380 First Flight
The first A380 flew from Toulouse on 27 April 2005.
2007Airbus
A380 Entered Service
The A380 entered commercial service in 2007.
2009Boeing
Boeing 787 Dreamliner First Flight
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the first commercial aircraft built primarily from carbon-fiber composite materials, makes its first flight on December 15, 2009 more than two years behind its original 2007 schedule following extensive supply chain difficulties with…
2014Airbus
EADS Renamed Airbus Group
EADS became Airbus Group and Eurocopter became Airbus Helicopters.
2015Airbus
A350 Entered Service
Qatar Airways began A350 commercial operations in January 2015.
2017Airbus
Corporate Name Became Airbus
Airbus Group SE was renamed Airbus SE.
2018Airbus
A220 Joined Airbus
Airbus took majority ownership of the C Series programme on 1 July 2018.
2019Airbus
Faury Became CEO
Guillaume Faury became Airbus CEO on 10 April 2019.
2019Boeing
737 MAX Grounded Worldwide Following Two Fatal Crashes
After the Lion Air Flight 610 crash in October 2018 and the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crash in March 2019, which killed 346 people, regulators ground the 737 MAX worldwide.
2020Airbus
Global Legal Settlements
Airbus agreed to more than $3.9 billion in global penalties.
2022Boeing
Boeing Relocates Corporate Headquarters to Arlington, Virginia
Boeing formally moves its corporate headquarters from Chicago, Illinois, to Arlington, Virginia, placing its senior executive team adjacent to the Pentagon and within close proximity to Congress and the regulatory agencies that govern both its defense and comm…
2024Boeing
Door-Plug Blowout, Machinists Strike, and Leadership Transition
Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 experiences a door-plug blowout at 16,000 feet on January 5, triggering a FAA production cap on 737 MAX and a congressional investigation into Boeing's quality management.
2025Airbus
Spirit Assets Acquired
Airbus acquired Spirit assets dedicated to Airbus programmes.
2025Airbus
FY2025 Results
Revenue was ~$83 billion (€73.420 billion) and net income was ~$5.9 billion (€5.221 billion).
2025Boeing
F-47 Win, Strike in St. Louis, Spirit Buyback and a Return to Profit
The Air Force selects Boeing's F-47 as its sixth-generation fighter in March. Boeing sells Jeppesen and other digital units to Thoma Bravo for $10.55 billion, the FAA raises the 737 cap to 42 a month in October, a 102-day strike at St.
2026Boeing
737-7 Certified, F/A-XX Win and a 737-10 Setback
Backlog reaches a record $715 billion at June 30. The FAA certifies the 737-7 on August 3, then on September 28 holds 737-10 certification over a flight-management software issue. On September 29 the Navy selects Boeing to build the F/A-XX fighter.
Acquisitions
Airbus
- Spirit AeroSystems assets2025Undisclosed
- Aerovel2024Undisclosed
- Bombardier interest in Airbus Canada2020$591M
- C Series Aircraft programme2018Undisclosed
Boeing
- Spirit AeroSystems2025$4.7B
- Aurora Flight Sciences2017Undisclosed
- Aviall2006$1.7B
- Jeppesen Sanderson2000$1.5B
- Hughes Electronics (space and communications business)2000$3.8B
- McDonnell Douglas1997$13.3B
Questions about Airbus vs Boeing
Who is the CEO of Airbus SE and The Boeing Company?
Airbus SE is led by Guillaume Faury and The Boeing Company is led by Kelly Ortberg. Both serve as the top executive responsible for the company's strategy, operations, and financial performance.
When was Airbus SE founded vs The Boeing Company?
The Boeing Company was founded in 1916 — 54 years before Airbus SE, which was founded in 1970. The Boeing Company's longer operating history gives it a deeper track record but also potentially more institutional inertia compared to the younger Airbus SE.
How many employees does Airbus SE have compared to The Boeing Company?
Airbus SE employs approximately 165,294 people, while The Boeing Company employs approximately 182,000. The Boeing Company has the larger workforce at 182,000 employees, compared to Airbus SE's 165,294. A higher headcount does not necessarily imply greater efficiency — it often reflects differences in business model (e.g., manufacturing vs. software).
Where are Airbus SE and The Boeing Company headquartered?
Airbus SE is headquartered in Netherlands (incorporation); France (main operations) and The Boeing Company is headquartered in United States. Their different home markets mean they may face different regulatory frameworks, tax regimes, and currency exposure.
Who founded Airbus SE and The Boeing Company?
Airbus SE was founded by Henri Ziegler, Roger Béteille, Felix Kracht, Franz Josef Strauss. The Boeing Company was founded by William E. Boeing, George Conrad Westervelt.
Which company has a longer operating history — Airbus SE or The Boeing Company?
The Boeing Company has been operating for approximately 110 years, making it the more established of the two companies. Airbus SE has been in operation for around 56 years. A longer operating history often signals greater institutional resilience and brand recognition, though it can also mean slower adaptation to new market conditions.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Airbus vs Boeing overview