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 plane maker has a years-long backlog.
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
A Boeing 737 MAX aircraft being assembled at the company's plant in Washington in 2024. Boeing has a backlog of 5,643 planes it needs to build.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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.
