Aircraft manufacturers embrace the consumer society's values of built-in obsolescence

Anyone with the very modern dependence on mobile phones, tablets, laptops and other consumer electronics products will know how difficult it is to resist buying the latest version every few years. Not only does the most up to date gadget appear to have more functionality, but it is often the only serious alternative when the older version reaches the seemingly deliberately programmed end of its useful life.

Manufacturers of commercial jet aircraft appear to have developed some of this approach to persuading airlines to order new aeroplanes. The industry remains cyclical, and the pattern of orders cannot escape the ebb and flow of airline profitability.

However, Airbus and Boeing (and, to a lesser extent, Bombardier and Embraer) are using the coincidence of a looming glut of retirement age aircraft and a large number of new technology aircraft programmes to provide a buffer between themselves and any possible demand volatility.