A clasp buckle sits on a passenger seat onboard a Qatar Airways Ltd Boeing Co. 777 passenger aircraft
Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg
Boeing stock was rising Monday after the aircraft manufacturer signed a multi-billion-dollar deal to build up to 100 planes for Qatar Airways.
The deal was cemented Monday when Boeing (ticker: BA
) executives and officials from the Biden administration met with representatives from the Qatari airline and government at the White House to sign the terms.
Boeing will produce 34 new 777-8 freighter jets for Qatar Airways. The deal includes options for another 16 jets, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo confirmed on Monday. The 777-8, which was launched Monday, is the freighter version of the 777X model.
The total value of the order would be worth more than $20 billion at current list prices, Boeing said in a press release.
“I understand from Boeing that this is the largest dollar value commitment for freighter aircraft in the company’s history,” Raimondo said. “More importantly, the economic impact of this sale will reverberate throughout the United States.”
The first delivery of the new freighter is expected in 2027. General Electric subsidiary GE Aviation will build the engines for the planes.
“Boeing has a long history of building market-leading freighter aircraft and Qatar Airways is honored to have the opportunity to be the launch customer for the 777-8 Freighter, an aircraft which will not only allow us to further enhance our product offering for our customers, but also help us meet our objectives to deliver a sustainable future for our business,” said Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker.
Qatar Airways also said it would place a provisional order for 25 Boeing 737-10 planes, with options for an additional 25. The value of this commitment is nearly $7 billion at current list prices.
The signing of the potential 100-plane, nearly $30-billion dollar deal corresponded with Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani’s visit to the White House, the first since President Joe Biden took office last year.
The deal is a boon to Boeing, which has struggled to launch the 777X model amid production delays, but the tide seems to be turning. Last week, China Airlines announced it had ordered four 777 freighters, valued at $1.4 billion at list prices.
Boeing stock was up around 4.6% on Monday to $199.28. General Electric was up nearly 2%.
Write to Sabrina Escobar at [email protected]
