Crisis? What crisis?

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: been made to justify the expense of developing a new narrowbody. Airbus talks about a “technology pot” that is still only “half full”; Mr Leahy says that they are “waiting for the engine guys to wow us.” Mr McNerney adds that the airlines want a 15% efficiency improvement over the very advanced 787—something that they cannot yet accomplish. Philippe Jarry, head of market development at Airbus, claims that airlines “could get a 15% efficiency gain tomorrow” if they ended their “frequency frenzy” by operating fewer flights. “We refuse to carry on our shoulders the misery of the industry,” he says.

Is the duopoly getting just a bit cosy? One new aircraft that was announced at Farnborough was the Bombardier CSeries, a 110- to 130-seat jet that will enter service with Lufthansa in 2013 and will compete with the smallest versions of the A320 and 737. With a fully composite wing and Pratt & Whitney’s new geared-turbofan engine, the CSeries should cut operating costs by 15% compared with similar-sized aircraft. Boeing and Airbus will have to decide whether they are willing to cede a small but important slice of the market to the Canadian interloper. The airlines will be hoping it is just the wake-up call they need.