Originally Posted by
Indy
...And what about Boeing's subsidies via the Ex/Im Bank?
Indy, this used to be a considerable aid that helped Boeing sell aircraft, but with the stability and profitability of the industry, the spread between regular financing and Export Import Bank rates has converged.
I haven't looked at the spread in a while, but the way you do this is to look at the Ex/Im Bank rate compared to EETC rates for the carrier you are looking at. They used to be as much as 7% different (2% v. 9%) depending on the airline doing the buying, and the tranch level.
Now I think they are much closer. Consider the recent Air France bond offering at (I think) 3.75%. They could use that money to buy aircraft v. Ex/Im Bank money. And I don't think Air France is considered investment grade by any measure.