Ferrydude
I think you've made your point quite clear now; Anything Boeing does is good and anything Airbus is bad. Obviously Boeing never sold aircraft below cost, and would certainly never sell (or lease) at exorbiant costs to save the business at the expense of the US taxpayer.
Boeing used to build a family of very nice, efficient and capable aircraft for their time. A time where commonality between different family members were not as important as it apparently is today. In this day and age, the 777 is about the only leading-edge of technology machine they have on offer, but it has virtually nothing in common with any other machine Boeing offers. This is undoubtedly a result of huge savings on the R&D front, perhapse because they found out too late that Airbus would emerge as a competitor.
Airbus, entering the fray, had to spend gazillions on R&D (yes, partly on state-subsidies but mainly borrowed from membership countries at very attractive rates, but not solely as state subsidies however much the US wants to say so) and has emerged with a product line that appeals greatly to the worlds airlines.
It is then only natural to expect Boeing to start turning the tide, as is indeed evident with the 7E7, and it is also natural to expect Airbus to start resting on their laurels. In other words, in a few years the situation may have been reversed if the 7E7 delivers on it's promise of a 20% reduction in DOC and is evolved into a family of aircraft. However, Airbus does not seem to be resting on their laurels, or at least not until the A380 is rolled out.
I for one hope that Airbus will continue to develop their product line. Indeed, they have been talking about an A300 successor for some time now. Furthermore, the major improvement offered by the 7E7 seems to stem for the advanced, yet to be developed, engines. What should keep Airbus from installing the same donks on, say, the A330? Or an A300 successor?
I also hope that Boeing will get the 7E7 up and running, and that it will deliver on its promises. That should keep Airbus on its toes, if they don' fall in the trap of neglecting R&D, and that again will see the industry with 2 manufactureres providing the industry with near-equal machines in all segments. The industry needs at least 2 competitors, but I have this feeling some people would love to see either Airbus or Boeing reign supreme.
Finally, let me finish by the following statement: I basically couldn't care less what badge is on the side of an aircraft. As long as it does its intended job safely, efficiently and comfortably for the company, staff, pax and cargo I'm happy.