Central to any recommendation that Bair would make to Boeing’s board of directors was an assessment of the economic profitability of the 7E7 project. Would the project compensate the shareholders of Boeing for the risks and use of their capital? Were there other considerations that might mitigate the economic analysis? For instance, to what extent might organizational and strategic considerations influence the board? If Boeing did not undertake the 7E7, would it be conceding leadership of the commercial-aircraft business to Airbus?