EADS Outpreforms Boeing? Who Got Paid Off Here?

As I spoke about a week or two ago, EADS company, Airbus, has won the contract for the Air Force tanker program. Recently the Air Force clarified things, saying that the A330 beat out the 767 in every category. This leaves me personally confused as to how they determined this. Someone got a payoff with this one.

Lets review the 5 criteria for the contract:

-capability
-risk
-past performance
-cost
-"integrated fleet aerial refueling assessment"

Ok, lets review these one by one and assess how exactly Boeing lost in every single category.



Capability

As far as capability, the 767 should be just as capable as the A330 with the only exception being that the A330 can carry more fuel. At the same time though, Boeing was given the criteria of medium sized air refueler, if the Air Force had specified that it wanted a large refueler, then the 777 would have been put forth as an option. A330 has the capacity, but capacity is not the same as capability.


Risk

This one confuses me, how is a 767 which has been through flight testing and proven as a reliable aircraft, more risky then an aircraft that hasn't been built yet, by a company that has never made a tanker aircraft before. That’s right, Airbus has never made a tanker before, while Boeing has two under its belt.


Past Performance

I'm not sure if this is past performance of the aircraft or the company. If it’s the aircraft, I'm not sure you can measure the past performance of planes that have no past. If it's the company, then how is the performance of a company that has never made a tanker before, better than that of a company that has created two, to date.


Cost

Well there, somehow Boeing lost with a lower cost per plane, and it currently fits all available hangars. The A330 costs more per plane, and is larger so it doesn't fit all of the current hangars requiring more money to be spent on modifying hangars and possible the runways for a heavier aircraft. Not sure how the 767 costs more.

"Integrated fleet aerial refueling assessment"

Ummmm, What does that mean? at the least this is a tie to anyone outside of the, Air Force elite who are the only ones who actually know what this criteria means.




As far as I can tell, the 767 still came out on top, well unless you factor in the changing of criteria after bids were due. That’s a whole other issue though.