Boeing and Qatar Airways on Wednesday announced a deal for the Middle Eastern airline to buy up to 210 jets, notching the U.S. planemaker’s largest-ever order of widebody aircraft.
The “historic” order — the biggest in Qatar Airways’ history — includes 130 of Boeing’s 787 Dreamliners and 30 of its much-delayed 777-9s, with options for up to 50 more planes, the companies said in press release.
Qatar Airways also signed an agreement with GE Aerospace for more than 400 engines to power the Boeing planes, those companies said in another joint release.
The purchase of widebody aircraft engines is the largest in GE Aerospace’s history, according to the release.
Boeing and Qatar Airways struck the agreement during President Donald Trump‘s state visit with the emir of Qatar, part of the president’s four-day tour of the Middle East.
Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg appeared alongside Trump at the Amiri Diwan in Doha for the signing ceremony.
“This is a critical next step for Qatar Airways on our path as we invest in the cleanest, youngest and most efficient fleet in global aviation,” Qatar Airways CEO Badr Mohammed Al-Meer said in a statement. “This is so we can meet the strong demand in the airline as we seamlessly connect passengers to the world better than anyone.”
Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Stephanie Pope said the “record-breaking order” with Qatar Airways “solidifies their future fleet with our market-leading widebody airplane family at its center.”
The 426-seat, twin-engine 777-9 is part of Boeing’s 777X series, which has yet to produce any deliveries and has still not been certified by the Federal Aviation Administration.
The White House earlier Wednesday valued the plane deal at $96 billion, and said it will support 154,000 U.S. jobs annually and more than one million domestic jobs in total.
Boeing and Qatar Airways, however, said the deal will result in roughly 400,000 jobs in the U.S.
Boeing’s website says it currently employs around 170,000 people globally.
“It’s the largest order of jets in the history of Boeing,” Trump said after Ortberg signed the agreement at the Amiri Diwan.
The deal could be a boon for Boeing, which has not posted a profit since 2018.
The plane maker has been beset by major safety concerns, manufacturing defects, cost overruns and a nearly two-month-long machinist strike last year.
Its business dealings have also been disrupted by Trump’s trade war. China stopped accepting deliveries of Boeing planes to its airlines in response to U.S. tariffs, Ortberg said last month.
But the company has recently narrowed its losses as it addresses a backlog worth more than $500 billion, Ortberg said in Boeing’s first-quarter earnings call.
“This is great news for South Carolina and Boeing,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., calling the deal “a gamechanger.”
Graham’s office said the new planes will be assembled at Boeing’s Charleston facility.
The deal announced Wednesday would nearly double Qatar Airways’ fleet of 233 aircraft, according to its website.
It could also draw more scrutiny toward Trump’s acceptance, and defense, of Qatar’s offer to gift the U.S. a luxury 747 jet that will act as the new Air Force One.
Democrats have blasted the move as corrupt and unconstitutional, and some of Trump’s Republican allies in government and media have also expressed unease.
— CNBC’s Michele Luhn contributed to this report.
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