How are foreign governments buying so many aircraft?!

Because of the Export-Import Bank, that's how.

The Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im Bank) is an independent agency that works as the official credit agency of the United States. The purpose of the Ex-Im Bank is to sustain and create jobs in the U.S. by by financing large and small businesses to turn potential export opportunities into real sales. The Ex-Im Bank operates by providing direct loans or loan guarantees (with tax-payers money) to international buyers, which maintains and creates jobs because businesses have a demand for their products or services.

Although the Ex-Im is designed to help businesses and stimulate job growth, Delta Airlines CEO, Richard Anderson, would argue just the opposite for U.S. aviation jobs. According to Anderson, foreign airlines using subsidized loans from the Ex-Im Bank to purchase widebodied aircraft from Boeing are receiving these aircraft at a substantially lower commitment, that it is hurting Delta (and other U.S. carriers) and affecting the job economy. Since U.S. carriers are unable to receive the subsidized loans from the Ex-Im Bank, the overall expenses of the widebodied aircrafts are much greater for U.S. carriers than their international counterparts. This lowered expense allows their competitors to lower their ticket prices without adversely affecting their relative rate of return.

I personally believe the Ex-Im Bank is a fantastic idea. I believe, overall, it's doing its job of providing more job opportunities for Americans. I would have to agree with the United States Court of Appeals, that the negative impact on Delta and other U.S. carriers does not outweigh the positive impact it has on the rest of the economy. However, I believe a solution can be found to maintain the positive impact and reduce or eliminate the negative one. For example, the Ex-Im Bank can include U.S. carriers in their subsidized loan guarantees, which would level the playing field for all air carriers. Another idea, proposed by Delta, is to completely eliminate the opportunities of subsidized loans for all widebodied aircraft for all carriers. A third option, which would reduce but not eliminate the negative issue, could be to decrease the subsidized loan amount or percentage, which increases the foreign carrier's out-of-pocket expenses.

Overall, Obama's decision to continue the Ex-Im Bank for another three years was an excellent idea, and I am excited to see what happens when a solution is found for this aviation issue.