DUBLIN — This in-depth look at Boeing's actions in the wake of the Lion Air crash, before the Ethiopian Airlines disaster, is illuminating. The most important thing it highlights is how difficult it can be for American companies to think about non-American consumers. It seems clear that Boeing either didn't care too much about its emerging market clients or truly didn't understand the differences between a market like the US and a market like Indonesia. It designed its planes for US airlines and US pilots, and it priced its safety features them too. Emerging market pilots and airlines were left to adapt as best they could. This is actually similar to how other US companies behave in foreign markets. Apple, for example, was very slow to introduce more-affordable versions of its flagship iPhone in emerging markets, and also dragged its feet in creating a dual-SIM version (dual-SIM phones are popular in markets like Asia). For whatever reason, Apple had trouble imagining that it would be worthwhile to redesign the iPhone to adapt to emerging market customers. Instead, it expected emerging market customers to adapt to the iPhone. The result is unsurprising. While Apple has 43% of the US smartphone market, it has just 7% of China's and just 1.2% of India's. As Apple tries to move into services, it will find itself at an almost insurmountable disadvantage in some of the world's biggest markets. There's a lesson here for other US firms. The centre of economic gravity is shifting eastwards, to the more-populous and faster-growing countries of Asia. If western companies want a piece of those markets, they're going to have to figure out how to adapt to local needs. – Felicity Duncan

Between two deadly crashes, Boeing moved haltingly to make 737 MAX fixes

By Andy Pasztor, Andrew Tangel and Alison Sider

In the aftermath of a Boeing Co. 737 MAX jet crash in Indonesia in October, much of the American aviation industry – the plane maker, the FAA, US airlines and their pilots – closed ranks to reassure the public the model was safe to fly.

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