Air-France, Lufthansa and BA operate Boeing, incl iirc the 777. They are not forced to buy Airbus.
I am in India and have no axe to grind vis-a-vis Airbus/Boeing. I am a frequent flyer on both Jet Airways's B737's and Indian Airlines Airbus A320's. I know what i'm saying will get me highly unpopular on this forum, but I prefer the extra leg and elbow room on the Airbus to the somewhat cramped seating on the B737. And the 320 is an excellent product, despite whatever Airbus bashers say. Most new Indian carriers have opted for them over the B737. And I've flown the 732's ( IC ), 733,734,738 and the 739 series.
All the 747s operated by Lufthansa are built PRE-Airbus equivalent. They still bought 747s when all Airbus built was a A300, but once they build an equivalent platform Boeing is out of the race. Airbus is a newer firm, state created, by the consortium member states and did not offer all the planes in all different niches right from the start. Look at when the A340 went operational. However, once Airbus builds it, they will buy the Airbus product. Once the A300 was out Boeing lost that specific niche, once the A340 was out, Boeing lost that niche, once A380 is out Boeing losses that niche. They had to buy Boeing or Lockheed products in the past if they wanted to stay viable as airlines, but any "viable" Airbus alternative will be preferred over the Boeing product.
Realize that much of Europe is near a command driven economy. EADS/Airbus is state owned, created, and operated. Frankfurt International Airport is nearly 70% owned by the city of Frankfurt, state of Hessen and German Federal Government. The governor of Hessen until recent sat on the board of directors of the FRAPORT (See a conflict of interest?). Even Lufthansa is largely state controlled. Now, think about this – What airplane will the heavily state influenced airline, with it’s HUB out of the state owned airport buy? Maybe the state built plane? Once Airbus builds a viable equivalent to a 747 Lufthansa will buy it. Once Airbus builds a viable alternative to a Tristar or DC10, Lufthansa will buy it. Once Airbus builds a viable alternative to a 737, Lufthansa will buy it. 20 years ago Airbus had no alternative to a 747. Stating that Lufthansa operates Boeing products is a statement of the obvious. But once Airbus builds any product that is viable for a specific market niche, the state run airline (Not all in Europe are state run airlines) will buy the product. Example, Ryan air will buy Boeing 737s and German Wings buys Airbus, both are private and that's normal business, just as in the USW Airbus made good sales as a Boeing competetor, but when you look at the state run airlines within Euopre you see a trend. If Airbus builds it, they will buy it. A380 will be bought by who? Is it really that much better than a new version of a 747 which does not require major changes to infrastructure at termninals etc? Who bought the plane before it was even close to being built? Lufthansa, Air France..... See a trend?
Boeing does NOT have a fair shake with the state influenced or operated airlines within Europe.
Red6