[slacktide]

Boeing did not get into this position overnight. After the massive cost and schedule overruns on the 787 program, they were far too cash-poor to fund the development of a clean-sheet design, hence the re-warmed 737. The 787 itself was a huge experiment in outsourcing both the costs and risks of aircraft development. It turns out you can outsource cost, but the prime contractor always owns the risk. Dr. John Hart-Smith published an excellent white paper warning of this while the precursor to the 787 was still in development, shortly after the Boeing-McDonnell Douglass merger.

https://www.google.com/search?q=Outsourced+Profits+%E2%80%93...