Airlines try to leverage Boeing woes despite lack of alternatives

Airline executives are frustrated with Boeing (BA.N), opens new tab as its safety crisis has upended their business plans. But in a tight market for large aircraft supplied by two companies, they have little choice but do business with the U.S. planemaker.

Despite some public displays of alarm - United Airlines (UAL.O), opens new tab CEO Scott Kirby flew to France to talk with Airbus (AIR.PA), opens new tab as Boeing's latest crisis erupted - carriers are still negotiating new plane orders, looking to leverage Boeing's delays to secure better terms.

Boeing's delivery schedule faces extended delays following a Jan. 5 mid-flight cabin blowout that exposed problems with safety and quality control in its manufacturing processes. But rival Airbus (AIR.PA), opens new tab already has a backlog of orders that makes shifting over a non-starter.

Instead, airlines are adopting a variety of strategies to try to stay in the game with Boeing, using orders of one type of plane as a placeholder to possibly take deliveries of a different model. They also are negotiating harder, looking to use production delays to get discounts from the planemaker on new orders and compensation for financial losses.