Apparently, legendary plane maker Boeing doesn't know how to lose. The company, despite being stained with a scandal just years ago regarding tankers, doesn't want to acknowledge that their offer was just not as appealing as that of rivals European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company (EADS) and Northrop Grumman.

Boeing has a dark history concerning military tankers which also raises concerns. In fact, Boeing won a similar contract in May 2003, but allegations of procurement fraud led to Boeing paying a record 615-million-dollar settlement to the United States government in 2004. A company executive and an Air Force official were both sent to jail.

Now, EADS and Northrop Grumman have prevailed over Boeing to grab a contract for up to 179 aerial tankers to replace the United States Air Force's aging tanker planes. The deal may be worth as much as $30 billion to $40 billion over the next 10 to 15 years. Eventually, the United States Air Force will have to replace all 600 tanker planes, which might lead to that sum doubling easily.

Meanwhile, Boeing said it is thinking about filing a protest this week after its executives met Friday with Air Force officials about the rationale behind awarding the contract to EADS. The Air Force chose the tankers based on converted A330 Airbus passenger jets, offered by Northrop-EADS, over the competing Boeing design based on the 767 airliner. The government said that their plane offered better value for the taxpayers' money over Boeing's design.

"We left the room [Friday] with significant concerns about the process in several areas, including program requirements related to capabilities, cost and risk," said Mark McGraw, Boeing's program manager for the KC-767 tanker. "What is clear now is that reports claiming that the Airbus offering won by a wide margin could not be more inaccurate."

EADS and its U.S. partner, Northrop Grumman, will build a new factory in Mobile, Alabama. Commercial freighters will also be produced here. Apparently, the civilian Airbus 330 will be built here along with its military brother. The company alleges that up to 1,800 jobs will be created in the Mobile area and up to 5,000 across Alabama.

However, Boeing still has many friends among lawmakers. "Having made sure that Iraq gets new schools, roads, bridges and dams that we deny America, now we are making sure that France gets the jobs that Americans used to have," said Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., quoted by AP. "We are sending the jobs overseas, all because John McCain demanded it."

McCain had an important role in blocking the Boeing tanker scam of 2004. "I saved the taxpayers $6 billion in a bogus tanker deal," the presidential candidate said of his 2004 actions against the Boeing deal.