After a trade agreement between the two nations, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick hinted about a deal of this kind, and the parent company of Iberia and British Airways said Friday that it had bought 32 Boeing aircraft.
Following Lutnick’s announcement that a U.K. corporation would purchase $10 billion worth of Boeing aircraft, the company’s stock increased on Thursday.
The 787-10 aircraft was ordered by International Consolidated Airlines Group (UK:IAG) (ES:IAG), whose shares are traded in both the United Kingdom and Spain, and is expected to be delivered between 2028 and 2033.
As is well known, IAG bought 21 Airbus (FR:AIR) A330-900 aircraft and stated that the Boeing jets were mostly for replacements.
According to the airline, British Airways has the right to purchase up to 10 more 787 aircraft under the agreement with Boeing and up to 13 more A330-900neo aircraft through the agreement with Airbus.
Prior to unusual factors, the airline’s first-quarter operating profit was EUR198 million ($222 million), up from EUR68 million ($76 million) in the same period last year. Revenue reached EUR7 billion, a 9.6% increase.
IAG reported that it was “continuing to see good demand” for air travel in North America, where premium cabin products helped offset the slowdown in U.S. economy cabin bookings, as well as in Latin America and Europe. On Friday, IAG’s stock increased by just over 1%.
Following a 32% decline in 2024, Boeing’s stock is up just over 8% this year. Last month, the aircraft manufacturer revealed a first-quarter loss that was less than anticipated, pointing to $545 billion in order backlogs and momentum in its commercial airplane sector.
The annual impact of tariffs, according to the company, is less than $500 million. As businesses looked to stockpile ahead of U.S. tariffs, demand for airplanes, mostly Boeing passenger planes, fueled a 9.2% increase in durable goods in March.
According to sources cited by Bloomberg earlier this week, Qatar Airlines is anticipated to purchase 100 Boeing wide-body aircraft shortly.
However, Boeing’s tariff problems can get worse. If trade talks fail, the European Commission said it is looking into retaliation on around EUR95 billion worth of U.S. goods. Additionally, according to sources cited by the FT earlier this week, the EU intended to expressly impose a tax on Boeing aircraft imports in the event that negotiations failed.
