Boeing wins Qatar freighter deal

Boeing Co will, on Monday, sign a launch order from Qatar Airways for a new freighter version of its 777X passenger jet.

The visit of Qatar’s emir to Washington coincides with the order.

Reuters reported last week that the U.S. planemaker was in advanced negotiations with the Gulf carrier for around 34 of the planned twin-engined freighters in a deal provisionally estimated to be worth $14 billion at list prices.

The White House said Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, representatives from the government of Qatar, Boeing, GE Aviation, and Qatar Airways will participate in a signing ceremony at 12:30 p.m. ET (1730 GMT) in the White House complex.

The deal represents the first order for a freighter version of the world’s largest twin-engined passenger plane.

It comes as Qatar Airways is locked in a bitter dispute with Boeing’s European rival Airbus (AIR.PA) over surface flaws on competing A350 passenger jets.

The amount of additional future revenue for Boeing from the deal would depend on discounts and how many of the freighters are converted from previous orders for 777X passenger versions.

Qatar is the second-largest customer for the world’s largest twin-engined jetliner with a total of 60 of the 406-seat 777X passenger version on order.

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