India, Jan. 4 -- From the outside, building a passenger aircraft can seem like a straightforward challenge of money and engineering talent. But once you step inside the industry, it quickly becomes clear that this is a business where time, trust, and survival matter just as much as technology. Many capable companies have walked in confident and walked out broken. Why is commercial aviation one of the most unforgiving industries for new entrants?

A Two-Player Market By the 1990s, the global commercial aircraft industry had effectively narrowed down to just two major players. Boeing, which began operations in 1916, emerged as the sole remaining US manufacturer of large passenger jets. Across the Atlantic, Airbus was created in 1970 as a Eu...