How have both boeing and airbus been helped by their goverment?

Answer 1

The Airbus answer is easy; government 'loans' and grants, tax breaks etc. BUT, the fact that it is a multi-national product also means that governments do a fare amount of hindering - the recent, well-publicised wiring problems with the A380 was largely due to various governments trying to get work for their own country (as happened with Eurofighter as well).

The Boeing case is a little trickier. The earlier answer about the 747 development is one example. The USAF 'marriage' to the Boeing C-135 in all it's many forms is another, as this provided Boeing with a good source of income in the lean years. The current KC-135 program looks to be a continuation of that strategy, with the KC-767 having been selected even though it failed to meet the requirements in a number of key areas; and now, rather than award the contract to Airbus (who DO meet the requirements) they are in the process of re-writing the requirements to tilt the playing field back in Boeing's favour!!

Answer 2

This is a tricky one. The answer is certainly "yes" but it is tough to prove one way or the other because the spin doctors from each company will downplay their own subsidies and enlarge the others'.
For example, when Boeing builds a new plant they get tax breaks from local, state and federal governments. Is this a subsidy or a fair compensation for the additional jobs the plant will bring?
Another example is military programs - Boeing and Airbus get billions from the governments for their programs.
A classic example was the Boeing 747. The story is that it was designed as a military transport plane under a government contract. Millions of dollars went into the design and they competed against Lockheed's C-5 Galaxy. When Boeing lost the competition they suddenly had a jumbo passenger jet which they could quickly bring to market. The interesting thing here is that the Boeing design for the military transport would never have won because they didn't meet some very basic minimum criteria the military wanted....but they sure had a great passenger jet! The story is that Boeing knew all along that they were building a passenger jet under military funding.

What about loans? Governments give all sorts of interest-free or low-interest loans with very favourable repayment terms to aerospace giants. This sure looks like government help to me.

It's all over the place and all the companies are doing it. If a major aerospace company says they are not helped by the government, I will show you a company that is lying.

Answer 3

Airbus is directly subsidized by the European Union.
Boeing's help comes from winning government contracts. The technology that the government wants and pays for is carried over into civilian craft.
Boeing is carrying on and prospering despite not having any "gimme" from the government.