Qatar Airways Poised To Order 150 Boeing Aircraft Amid President Trump's Visit To Doha

US President Donald Trump’s current Middle East Tour could bring in a major order for Boeing, as reports now indicate that Qatar’s flag carrier, Qatar Airways, could order 150 aircraft from the plane maker. While no official announcement has been made so far, one report says a deal is close to being announced.

This is part of Trump’s larger plan to attract significant investment from the Middle East, including hundreds of billions of dollars of investment from Saudi Arabia across several sectors.

150-Aircraft Order For Boeing

US President Donald Trump is on a major international trip to the Middle East. On Tuesday, he landed in Saudi Arabia, and over four days, he is also scheduled to visit Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. While several things are discussed on such visits, trade deals are also a big portion of the discussion, and Trump is eyeing major investments from the region, including a major aircraft order for the US-based plane manufacturer Boeing .

According to a report by NewsNation, Qatar Airways is set to announce an agreement to purchase 150 aircraft from Boeing during Donald Trump’s visit to the country on Wednesday, May 14. The President is scheduled to travel to Doha from Saudi Arabia early afternoon on Wednesday, and his visit could coincide with the announcement from the airline, according to sources familiar with the matter. Last month, Karoline Leavitt, the Press Secretary of the White House, said that Trump will look to strengthen the ties between the US and these three countries in the Middle East, with the trip including “many bilateral meetings and talks.”\

The 150-plane order is said to be for twin-aisle widebody jets. Of course, more will be revealed if and when the airline and/or Boeing make an official announcement. Qatar Airways didn’t respond to NewsNation’s request for a comment, and the White House also refused to get ahead of any announcements from the president, according to the report.

Fleet Upgrading

This isn’t the first time that news of Qatar possibly announcing a huge Boeing order has surfaced in recent days. Earlier this month, Bloomberg, too, reported that Qatar would likely announce a major Boeing order during Trump’s visit. While the report said the order was for around 100 aircraft, NewsNation’s report now puts that figure at 150 widebody jets.

Reports of Qatar Airways shopping around for new widebody jets have been swirling around for a while now. In March, Reuters reported that the carrier would soon place a big widebody jet order. But it wasn’t clear back then whether it would go to Airbus or Boeing. The company’s CCO, Thierry Antinori said, “To secure the growth of tomorrow by continuing to have a very strong and the best fleet in the industry, our CEO is working on the RFP (request for proposal) with the aircraft manufacturer to place a big order soon.”

Qatar Airways operates a diverse fleet of aircraft, including widebody and narrowbody jets from both Boeing and Airbus. The airline continues to develop and enhance its fleet to align with its future expansion needs and currently awaits almost 200 aircraft deliveries. According to data by ch-aviation, Qatar Airways is already waiting for the following airplanes:

Looking For Investment

Trump’s visit to the Middle East aims to secure mega deals, translating to hundreds of billions in investment in the United States, and the Qatar Airways deal is part of that larger plan. On Tuesday, the US President secured a $600 billion investment from Saudi Arabia in the US. This includes a $142 billion defense and security deal to provide Saudi Arabia with the latest defense equipment.

Besides these official trade deals, another significant piece of information related to Trump’s current visit is that the present administration is preparing to accept a luxury Boeing 747-8 as a gift from the royal family of Qatar. An official announcement will likely be made soon, but it has been reported that the Trump Administration has already commissioned L3Harris to equip the plane for its new role .