????2011年，波音公司（Boeing）高級副總裁雷?康納與印尼航空公司獅子航空（Lion Air）CEO拉斯蒂?基拉那在巴厘島簽署了一份協議，美國總統奧巴馬親自參加了簽約儀式。這份協議給這家美國飛機制造商帶來了約220億美元的生意。獅子航空是急速發展的東南亞市場一家低成本航空公司，一直都是波音的客戶。

????本周，同樣的一幕再次上演，只是時過境遷，其中一方仍是基拉那，但與他簽約的卻變成了波音公司的競爭對手空客公司（Airbus）CEO法布里斯?布雷吉爾。出席儀式的也不再是奧巴馬，而是變成了法國總統弗朗索瓦?奧朗德。

????晨星公司（Morningstar）分析師尼爾?迪赫拉認為，通常情況下，低成本航空公司不會像獅子航空公司這樣輕易改變商業上的忠誠，因為維護和使用兩種不同類型飛機的成本太高。那么，獅子航空為何會做出這種改變？這對波音公司又意味著什么？

????對波音來說，最糟糕的情況是：夢想號飛機的電池故障讓它的信譽受損，蒂爾集團（Teal Group）副總裁理查德?阿波拉弗亞說道。但他又補充道，這種可能性極小。所有新機型在推出的時候都會存在問題，而最終通常都會得到分析師和消費者的諒解。此外，波音公司的業務非常龐大，市場價值約為650億美元。而且，全球僅有兩家公司有能力供應100座以上的飛機，波音公司便是其一，另外一家則是空中客車。

????過去一年對波音而言意義重大。今年一月的報告顯示，波音公司在2012年交付飛機總量超過了空客。波音交付飛機數量達到創紀錄的601架，緊隨其后的空客公司交付了588架。

????此外，兩家公司均有大批業務尚未交付。雖然兩家公司都交付了約600架飛機，但每家公司未完成的訂單仍有超過4,000架。這在很大程度上是因為兩家公司都通過轉包商生產飛機的大部分部件，而且兩家公司實際上聘用的都是同一批轉包商。因此，不論航空公司和其他客戶訂購多少飛機，這些供應商在一定時間內生產的飛機部件總是有限的。

????由于訂單積壓，獅子航空這種發展迅速的小型公司雖然希望進行機隊多樣化，但要想采購到飛機，通常并不容易。

????迪赫拉建議，要想加快采購速度，方法之一便是簽署一筆引人注目的大訂單，例如2011年220億美元的訂單，和本周新簽署的240億美元的訂單。從最單純的角度來看，獅子航空最近與空客的交易只是表明它希望同時從波音公司和空客兩家公司訂購飛機，因為僅靠一家公司無法滿足它的需求。阿波拉弗亞認為，另外一種可能性是，這家小公司在挑起這兩家航空業巨頭之間的競爭。

????為了打入新興市場和推廣新飛機，空客與波音正在進行激烈的價格戰。于是它們的客戶就利用了這一點。阿波拉弗亞說：“我認為，它們已經意識到必須趁熱打鐵，盡快拿到客戶的預付款?！?/p>

????這種情況下，速度是最關鍵的因素。獅子航空的基拉那打算與馬來西亞競爭對手亞洲航空（AirAsia）展開角逐，因此需要盡快買進更多飛機，而這種需求可能超過了只從波音公司訂購的任何承諾。

????如果獅子航空的模式取得成功，其他公司可能會紛紛效仿。如果公司能從空客獲得足夠多的實惠，足以抵消增加的維護與培訓成本，那么其他公司可能也會實行機隊多樣化，進而進一步加劇波音與空客的競爭。

????In 2011, President Obama watched Boeing's senior vice president Ray Conner pen a deal in Bali with Rusdi Kirana, CEO of Indonesian airline Lion Air. The deal secured almost $22 billion worth of business to the American airplane manufacturer. Lion Air, a low-cost carrier for the booming Southeast Asian market, had always done business with Boeing.

????This Monday, the same scene took place, only with different players. Kirana was still there, but this time, he was signing a deal with Boeing rival Airbus' CEO Fabrice Bregier, while French President Francois Hollande, not Obama, looked on.

????Low-cost carriers don't typically switch business allegiances like this, says Morningstar analyst Neal Dihora, because it is expensive to maintain and fly two different types of planes. So why would Lion Air make the switch? And what does it mean for Boeing?

????Worst case for Boeing (BA): The Dreamliner's battery woes have hurt its reputation, says Richard Aboulafia, vice president of consulting firm Teal Group. But, he adds, that scenario is also the least likely. All new plane launches have problems that analysts and eventually customers usually forgive. Besides, Boeing's business is big, with a market cap of about $65 billion. It is also one of two companies, the other being Airbus, that can supply anyone looking to buy planes that seat more than 100 people.

????Boeing has had a big year. This January, it bested Airbus on total number of planes delivered for 2012. The company also delivered a record-breaking 601 planes while Airbus, close behind, delivered 588.

????And yet, the bulk of the companies' business is in undelivered aircraft. Both companies delivered about 600 planes, but each has a backlog of more than 4,000 that isn't going anywhere soon. Part of that is because Boeing and Airbus use subcontractors to build most pieces of their planes – often the same subcontractors, in fact. So, no matter how many planes airlines and other customers order, these suppliers can only produce so many plane pieces at any given time.

????Because of such backlogs, small, growing companies like Lion Air that are looking to diversify their fleets often have a tough time procuring planes.

????One way to expedite the process, suggests Dihora, is to sign big splashy deals such as the $22 billion one in 2011 and the $24 billion one this week. The recent deal with Airbus, at its most innocent, is merely an example of Lion Air ordering from both Boeing and Airbus because one couldn't handle the demand by itself. Another possibility, suggests Aboulafia, is that the little company is pitting the two air titans against each other.

????Airbus and Boeing are waging a brutal price war to access emerging markets and to roll out new aircraft. So their customers can take advantage, says Aboulafia: "I think there's this realization that they should strike while the iron is hot and get that upfront pricing."

????Speed is of the essence, in this case. Lion Air's Kirana is looking to give Malaysian-based rival AirAsia a run for its money, and he needs to get more planes fast, which probably trumps any obligation to order exclusively from Boeing.

????Lion Air could set an example to others if this model works. If the airline got a good enough deal from Airbus to outweigh the higher maintenance and training costs, other companies might also diversify their fleets, deepening the Boeing-Airbus rivalry.