Qatar Airways is reportedly eyeing a significant Boeing order when Donald Trump, the President of the United States, is scheduled to visit the Middle East, including stops in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Boeing
Stock Code
BA
Business Type
Planemaker
Date Founded
July 15, 1916
CEO
Kelly Ortberg
This would not be the first time that Trump was involved in announcements of Qatar Airways’ aircraft orders. In July 2019, the Qatari carrier and Boeing finalized an agreement for five Boeing 777Fs, with the signing ceremony attended by Trump and Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, the Emir of Qatar.
100s Of Boeing Aircraft
Photo: rehan waheed | Shutterstock
As reported by Bloomberg, which cited people familiar with the matter, Qatar Airways
is finalizing an order for 100 Boeing twin-aisle aircraft, with the airline potentially adding options to the deal. The New York Times previously reported that the Trump Organization agreed to build a new golf course and other real estate with a Qatari government-owned company in the country.
In April, Karoline Leavitt, the Press Secretary of the White House, confirmed that Trump would embark on his second foreign trip during his second term to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE between May 13 and May 16. His first foreign trek was to Rome, Italy, where he attended the Pope’s funeral, with Trump later posting an image of himself in Papal regalia on X, formerly known as Twitter.
According to Leavitt, Trump will look to strengthen the ties between the US and the three countries that he will visit during the trip, which will include “many bilateral meetings and talks.”
Finalizing Rumored Order
Photo: Boeing
In June 2024, Bloomberg also reported that Qatar Airways was closing in on an order for around 200 aircraft. The deal would have been split between Airbus
and Boeing aircraft, and could have been finalized at the then-upcoming Farnborough International Airshow, which happened between July 22, 2024, and July 26, 2024.
At the time, the publication, which cited people familiar with the matter, said that Qatar Airways was looking at a mix of A350
and 777X aircraft, yet cautioned that the sources warned that the deal could be postponed to a later date.
At the Farnborough International Airshow
in July 2024, Qatar Airways finalized an order. However, it was much smaller in scale, with the Qatari airline purchasing 20 777-9s,
taking its 777X backlog to 94 aircraft, split between 34 777-8F and 60 777-9s. Other Boeing aircraft that remain within the airline’s backlog include 25 737 MAX and ten 787-9s, with the plane maker handing over a 787-9, registered as A7-BHT, on March 20, its latest delivery to Qatar Airways, ch-aviation records showed.
Related
Qatar Airways Expands Its Boeing 777Xs Order With 20 More At Farnborough
In total, Qatar Airways had 94 commitments for the 777X, including passenger and cargo aircraft.
Trump-Attended Order Signing Ceremonies
Photo: Qatar Airways
If Qatar Airways does finalize an order for Boeing aircraft, it could mark at least the second time that Trump has been involved in order-signing ceremonies that included Qatar Airways and the US plane maker.
In July 2019, Qatar Airways unveiled that it had finalized an order for five 777F
freighters, with the order ceremony being held at the White House. The event involved Trump, Al-Thani, Akbar Al Baker, representing Qatar Airways, and Kevin McAllister, on behalf of Boeing Commercial Aircraft (BCA), with the latter two Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) no longer holding their positions at the two respective companies. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was initially signed during the Paris Air Show a month prior.
Trump was also involved in several other aircraft deals during his first term as President of the US. In February 2019, Trump and the now-former President of Vietnam, Nguyen Phu Trong, joined Boeing and Vietjet
as the airline ordered 20 737 MAX 8 and 80 737 MAX 10 aircraft, taking the airline’s then-total backlog to 200 737 MAX
aircraft. In November 2017, when Trump visited China and met with Xi Jinping, the President of China, China Aviation Supplies Holding Company (CAS) announced that Chinese carriers had ordered up to 300 Boeing aircraft. However, as reported by Bloomberg at the time, the deal mainly included older agreements, including some dating back to 2013.
