Boeing's Problem Is Filling Orders, Not Getting Them

Qatar Airways' announcement of a record order for Boeing aircraft makes for nice fanfare, but the American plane maker has a years-long backlog.

- Thomas Black

It is no secret that US President Donald Trump loves fanfare and superlatives. This is why Air Force One had not one but two fighter jet escorts during his visit to Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Who can forget how Mr Trump beamed during a military parade that French President Emmanuel Macron threw him in Paris during his first term?

That love of fanfare includes big investment announcements for which Mr Trump is not shy to take credit, such as the US$100 billion (S$130 billion) commitment in December 2024 from Japan's SoftBank for projects in the US and the US$500 billion of AI investment pledged in January from joint venture partners, including OpenAI and Oracle.

So it is of little surprise that Mr Trump was in Doha on May 14 for the announcement of Qatar Airways' record order of 160 Boeing wide-body aircraft plus options for 50 more, the latest example of nations or companies pulling out all the stops to provide Mr Trump with some bragging rights. The White House pegged the value of the deal at US$96 billion, but it will end up being much less after applying typical discounts for big customers.

Boeing's problems, though, are about increasing production, not winning new orders. The company has a backlog of 5,643 planes it needs to build, with a value of about US$460 billion.