Al Root

President Donald Trump is turning out to be Boeing's best salesperson.

Thursday, the president announced another deal for Boeing during his Middle East trip. This time, the customer is Etihad Airways, the national carrier of the United Arab Emirates.

It will buy 28 787 and new 777X model jets that would be worth about $14.5 billion at list prices. Airlines don't typically pay list prices or disclose those they negotiate.

"With the inclusion of the next-generation 777X in its fleet plan, the investment deepens the longstanding commercial aviation partnership between the UAE and the United States," the White House said. "It fuels American manufacturing and drives exports."

Etihad has a fleet of about 100 planes. It flies the Airbus A380, A350, A321, and A320, as well as the Boeing 787 and 777.

GE Aerospace engines power the jets. Boeing and GE didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Etihad order follows recent agreements for up to 210 planes for Qatar Airways and 32 jets for British Airways parent IAG.

Boeing stock was up 0.4% in premarket trading at $207.09, while S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 0.4%. GE Aerospace shares were up 0.8% at $231.21.

The new business is helping boost investor sentiment. Coming into Friday trading, Boeing stock was up about 13% in May. GE shares added about 14%.

New business is great, but it is about the future. Boeing has more than 6,000 unfilled orders for new commercial jets. The Etihad orders should enter service near the end of the decade.

Investors want to see Boeing make more planes now. Wall Street expects about 550 commercial jet deliveries in 2025, up from just under 350 in 2024.

Boeing delivered more than 800 jets in 2018, the year before a pair of crashes of its MAX jet grounded the plane worldwide, before Covid-19, and before an emergency-door plug blew out of a 737 MAX 9 jet in January 2024.

Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com

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May 16, 2025 09:06 ET (13:06 GMT)

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