Qatar Airways will purchase up to 210 wide-body jets and 400 turbofan engines in an extraordinary order valued at $96 billion, according to the White House. Contracts with Boeing Corp. and GE Aerospace covering the sales were completed during a state visit by President Donald J. Trump to the Gulf state.
The delivery schedule for the new aircraft was not provided. Boeing has a total order backlog for more than 800 Dreamliners, and more than 500 777x jets. In fact, the latter aircraft has not yet been certified for commercial service, and the first deliveries of the 777X are not scheduled until 2026.
Pres. Trump and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad were on-site in Doha for the contract signing, as were Boeing, GE Aerospace, and Qatar Airways Group executives.
Boeing secured firm orders for 130 wide-body 787 Dreamliners and 30 777-9s, plus purchase options for 50 more 787 and 777X jets. The specific 787 models were not specified by Boeing, which said this will be the largest order for wide-body aircraft in its history, and the largest order ever for the airline.
GE Aerospace is contracted to provide 260 GEnx engines for the Dreamliners and 60 GE9X engines for the 777s, plus options and spares. It noted this is the largest widebody engine purchase in the history of the firm.
“This so we can meet the strong demand in the airline as we seamlessly connect passengers to the world better than anyone," stated Qatar Airways Group CEO Engr. Badr Mohammed Al-Meer. "After two consecutive years of record-breaking commercial performance and with this historic Boeing aircraft order we're not simply chasing scale, we're building strength that will allow us to continue to deliver our unmatched products and customer experiences.”
U.S. officials emphasized that the deal would support 154,000 jobs annually at Boeing, GE, and their suppliers annually, and over one million total jobs over the course of the production and delivery of the aircraft.
"Our team is looking forward to building 787s and 777s for Qatar Airways into the next decade as they connect more people and businesses around the world with unmatched efficiency and comfort," stated Boeing Commercial Airplanes president and CEO Stephanie Pope.
