Twas ever thus, but it's cyclical. In the 60s and 70s mainline airlines bought jets of 90 seats up from either Boeing or Douglas. Only nationalised airlines bought Vickers or Dassault, and pinko commies had to make do with Ilyushins and Tupolevs.
There was a brief period of competition in the late 70s / 80s when Airbus and Lockheed were trying to be different. Order was soon restored, then came the 90s with the regional jet fad and the rise of Embraer and Bombardier.
But now we're back to a big duopoly. Ilyushin are still around but only Cuba still buys from them. The next shake-up will come from China; once their civil aviation designs reach the sophistication of their military aircraft they'll start earning orders across Asia, then Europe..
There was a brief period of competition in the late 70s / 80s when Airbus and Lockheed were trying to be different. Order was soon restored, then came the 90s with the regional jet fad and the rise of Embraer and Bombardier.
But now we're back to a big duopoly. Ilyushin are still around but only Cuba still buys from them. The next shake-up will come from China; once their civil aviation designs reach the sophistication of their military aircraft they'll start earning orders across Asia, then Europe..