LONDON, May 9 (Bernama-PA Media/dpa) -- British Airways’ parent company has bought 32 new Boeing planes from the United States, following the country’s trade agreement with the United Kingdom on Thursday, PA Media/dpa reported.
International Airlines Group (IAG) confirmed the order of the Boeing 787-10 aircraft for its BA fleet, alongside 21 Airbus planes for its other airlines, on Friday morning.
The US and the UK said they had struck what British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called a “historic” deal on Thursday, which saw American import taxes on British goods like cars and steel either slashed or removed completely.
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Thursday that plane engines and other aeroplane parts would also be excluded from trade tariffs as part of the trade deal.
“We’ve agreed to let Rolls-Royce engines and those kinds of plane parts come over tariff-free,” he said.
He told reporters that an unnamed British airline had agreed to buy US$10 billion of Boeing planes as the trade deal was agreed.
IAG did not confirm how much it had paid for the planes in its Friday announcement.
Chief executive Luis Gallego said the order was a “milestone” for the conglomerate and would “strengthen our core markets” over the next decade.
The Boeing order marks an early sign of reduced trade friction between the two countries, after President Donald Trump slapped at least 10 per cent import tariffs on all British goods at the start of April.
IAG said the Boeing planes would be powered by American General Electric engines, while the Airbus craft will have British-made Rolls-Royce engines.
The aviation industry has been pushing the Trump administration to allow aircraft and other parts to be either wholly or partially exempt from the worldwide tariff regime.
The Thursday trade deal between the two countries will see the blanket 10 per cent tariff imposed on imports by Trump as part of his sweeping “liberation day” announcement remaining in place, but talks are ongoing in a UK effort to ease them.
-- BERNAMA-PA Media/dpa
