DHAKA: Bangladesh has ordered 25 wide-body aircraft from Boeing as part of a tariff deal with the United States, a top commerce ministry official told AFP on Thursday, as European envoys push an Airbus agreement. &ldquo;We made a commitment and ordered 25 wide-bodies, and we expect to receive the first one in 2029,&rdquo; official Mahbubur Rahman said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s part of the tariff deal with the US.&rdquo; Bangladesh has been in political turmoil since a student-led uprising in August 2024 overthrew autocratic former leader Sheikh Hasina. The South Asian nation, the world&rsquo;s second-biggest garment manufacturer, struck a trade deal with the United States to scale back President Donald Trump&rsquo;s punishing tariffs in August. Dhaka proposed buying Boeing planes and boosting imports of US wheat, cotton and oil to help narrow its trade deficit, which Trump has used as justification for imposing painful levies. Rahman said Dhaka was also considering an offer from Boeing&rsquo;s European rival. &ldquo;We have offers from Airbus as well, and an assessment is currently ongoing,&rdquo; he said. Bangladesh&rsquo;s state-run BSS news agency said national flag carrier Biman Bangladesh Airlines was reviewing proposals from both companies. Airbus has proposed supplying 10 A350 wide-body and four A320neo narrow-body aircraft, BSS said. Boeing&rsquo;s further offer is for 10 787 Dreamliners and four 737 MAX jets, it reported. Bangladesh has a reported 19 aircraft in its current fleet, an estimated 14 of them from Boeing. European envoys at talks held in Dhaka this month sought to woo Bangladesh into buying Airbus planes, BSS said. European Union ambassador Michael Miller, speaking at an event held at the French embassy, said Bangladesh had tremendous potential in the aviation sector and that the EU wanted a place &ldquo;at that table.&rdquo; Textile and garment production accounts for about 80 percent of exports in Bangladesh and the industry has been rebuilding after it was hit hard during the deadly 2024 unrest that toppled the government. The United States represents 20 percent of Bangladesh&rsquo;s ready-made garments exports. Trump threatened Bangladesh with 37 percent tariffs in April &mdash; more than double the 16 percent already placed on cotton products. That was scaled back to 20 percent after a deal in August. Bangladesh is being run by an interim government ahead of elections slated for February 2026.

Business

Official says Dhaka committed to buy 25 wide-body aircraft, expecting first in 2029, as part of US tariff agreement deal.

Bangladesh orders 25 Boeing planes, Airbus eyes deals

NEW YORK: Boeing reported a $5.4-billion third-quarter loss on Wednesday as massive added costs from the delayed certification of its 777X aircraft weighed down its results. The aviation giant scored a 30-percent jump in revenues to $23.3 billion following much higher commercial plane deliveries compared with the year-ago level. But the performance was marred by a one-time charge of $4.9 billion on the 777X program, which has faced a prolonged certification process with US air officials. Chief Executive Kelly Ortberg pointed to the October approval by the Federal Aviation Administration of an increased monthly production rate on the 737 MAX as a sign of the company&#39;s progress. He also noted that Boeing generated positive free cash flow during the quarter, a benchmark closely watched by Wall Street. But Ortberg said more work is still needed to turn Boeing around after a series of safety problems, including two fatal 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019 that have led to more intense FAA scrutiny over new plane certifications. Boeing has repeatedly pushed back the timeframe on the 777X. Under the latest shift, commercial deliveries will commence in 2027 from the prior 2026 timeframe. &quot;While we are disappointed in the 777X schedule delay, the airplane continues to perform well in flight testing, and we remain focused on the work ahead to complete our development programs and stabilize our operations in order to fully recover our company&#39;s performance and restore trust with all of our stakeholders,&quot; Ortberg said. In 2020, Boeing booked a $6.5 billion charge on the 777X, citing the lengthy FAA certification process and the pushing back of demand from airlines for the jet due to Covid-19. Ortberg said there were no issues with the aircraft&#39;s engine or airframe, but that the company had &quot;fallen behind&quot; schedule on FAA authorizations for testing, affecting Boeing&#39;s ability to &quot;fly and get certification credit,&quot; he told CNBC. There may be a &quot;minor&quot; impact on the process from the ongoing US government shutdown, &quot;but clearly the government shutdown did not drive this charge,&quot; Ortberg said. In a message to employees, Ortberg said the company&#39;s defense operation in St. Louis is &quot;effectively executing our strike contingency plans&quot; following the vote Sunday by more than 3,000 workers to reject the company&#39;s latest contract offer. Local Boeing officials in St. Louis have said the company is accelerating recruitment of replacement workers and welcoming back employees who cross the picket line. Union leaders have described Boeing as refusing to negotiate in good faith.

Boeing performance was marred by a one-time charge of $4.9 billion on the 777X program, which has faced a prolonged certification process with US air officials

Articles tagged with "Boeing"

Bangladesh orders 25 Boeing planes, Airbus eyes deals

Boeing reports $5.4-bn loss from 777X aircraft delays