How Trump's Qatari jet could be a blessing in disguise for troubled Boeing

WASHINGTON (TNND) — The last few years have been difficult for Boeing after multiple commercial wrecks, labor standoffs, and investigations into the plane maker's safety culture. Aviation experts suggest things might get easier for the company if the Qatari 747 jetliner gets refashioned into the new Air Force One.

Boeing's stock value is up more than 60% since its April lows when China decided not to accept any more orders from the aircraft giant, as Beijing and President Donald Trump continued battling it out in a prolonged trade war. Since then, Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund announced plans to order 30 Boeing 737 MAX jets, according to Bloomberg. Qatar also signed a $200 billion agreement to purchase jets from the troubled aircraft maker during Trump's visit to the Gulf country this week.

This is a far cry from where the company started out the year.

Boeing was cash-starved in late 2024, wrestling with large financial losses from a brutal labor strike, and after two 737 Max crashes killed 346 people. The company agreed to plead guilty to deceiving the Federal Aviation Administration during the certification process for the plane.

It borrowed $10 billion from several banks and rolled out plans to raise $25 billion by selling stock and debt.

That comes on top of the contract Boeing hammered out with the Air Force in 2018 to build a new Air Force One fleet for $3.9 billion. Construction costs associated with equipping them with the necessary technologies for flight exploded to $5.3 billion, according to a Pentagon estimate in 2019.

The project was expected to be completed last year, but the jets are now unlikely to arrive until after Trump's term, namely because of severe cost overruns. They could be ready within two years if some requirements are reduced, according to Darlene Costellow, principal deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology, and logistics.

If Qatar follows through on gifting the Trump administration a $400 million commercial jet, refurbishing the plane would likely go directly to Boeing as its original manufacturer, aviation experts argue.

“Since you’re also disassembling and reassembling the jet for security reasons, you’re probably going to go with the people who know it better,” Richard Aboulafia, an analyst and consultant on commercial and military aviation, told NBC News recently. “If you have to rip the plane apart, that’s more of a Boeing job.”

Getting the jet prepared is an intensive procedure, as it requires dismantling the plane to scan for listening devices, spyware, or other security vulnerabilities. Converting the plane under a new contract could help Boeing supplement lost money on the fixed cost of the original contract.

“This would be a real relief for Boeing,” Aboulafia said.

Trump's willingness to accept the jet is not going over well on Capitol Hill or among some of his biggest supporters.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, is planning to block Trump's Justice Department nominees until the administration provides more details about the plane. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-TX, told CNBC this week he's worried about the national security implications.

The president addressed those concerns on Fox News earlier this week, saying: "My attitude is, why wouldn’t I accept a gift? We’re giving to everybody else, why wouldn’t I accept a gift?”