In 1991 , Jean Pierson , then CEO and Managing Director of Airbus Industrie , described a number of factors which explained the dominant position of American aircraft manufacturers : the land mass of the United States made air transport the favored mode of travel ; a 1942 Anglo-American agreement entrusted transport aircraft production to the US ; and World War II had left America with `` a profitable , vigorous , powerful and structured aeronautical industry . ''
In 1991 , Jean Pierson , who was then the CEO and Managing Director of Airbus Industrie , gave some reasons why American plane makers were bigger : because the United States is so big , people preferred to fly ; a 1942 agreement between the United Kingdom and the United States meant that the United States would make transport planes ; and World War II had given the United States `` a profitable , vigorous , powerful and structured aeronautical industry . ''