MW That big Boeing plane order? British Airways operator IAG has ordered 32 of its jets.

By Barbara Kollmeyer

Boeing shares rose Thursday after U.S. trade official's hint

The parent company of Iberia and British Airways said Friday that it has ordered 32 Boeing jets, confirming hints of such a deal made by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick following a trade agreement between the two countries.

Boeing shares $(BA)$ got a boost on Thursday after Lutnick said a U.K. company would buy $10 billion worth of its airplanes.

Read: Trump rolls out U.K. trade agreement. It's a relief - but deals with other countries are more crucial.

International Consolidated Airlines Group (UK:IAG) (ES:IAG), whose shares trade in both the U.K. and Spain, said it ordered the 787-10 aircraft for delivery between 2028 and 2033.

IAG, as it is known, said the Boeing jets are mainly for replacements, and it also ordered 21 Airbus (FR:AIR) A330-900 aircraft.

The airline said the order with Boeing grants British Airways the rights to buy up to 10 additional 787 aircraft and the order with Airbus grants it the right to buy up to 13 additional A330-900neo aircraft.

The airline reported first-quarter operating profit before exceptional items of EUR198 million ($222 million), jumping from EUR68 million ($76 million) a year ago. Revenue rose 9.6% to EUR7 billion.

IAG said it was "continuing to see good demand" for air travel in Latin America and Europe and robust growth in North America, where premium cabin offerings helped compensate for softness in U.S. economy cabin sales. IAG shares rose just over 1% on Friday.

Boeing shares are up just over 8% this year, after a 32% drop in 2024. The aircraft maker last month reported a narrower-than-expected first-quarter loss, citing strength in its commercial airplane business and $545 billion in order backlogs.

The company has estimated tariff hits at less than $500 million a year. Demand for aircraft, mainly Boeing passenger planes, drove a 9.2% surge in durable goods in March as companies sought to stock up ahead of U.S. tariffs.

Qatar Airlines is expected to soon buy 100 Boeing wide-body jets, Bloomberg reported earlier this week, citing sources.

But Boeing's tariff woes could deepen. The European Commission said it is studying retaliation on more than EUR95 billion of U.S. goods if trade talks don't succeed. And the EU was planning to specifically levy Boeing aircraft imports in the event of failed talks, the FT reported earlier this week, citing sources.

-Barbara Kollmeyer

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May 09, 2025 04:48 ET (08:48 GMT)

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