British Airways owner IAG buys 32 new Boeing planes from US following Trump trade deal
9 May 2025, 08:36
British Airways’ parent company has bought 32 new Boeing planes from the US - a move that comes as part of the UK's newly brokered trade agreement with the US on Thursday.
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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.
Speaking on Thursday following a highly-anticipated press conference, Sir Keir Starmer called the agreement a “historic” deal between the US and the UK.
The deal, announced by Starmer and Trump in a televised phone call on Thursday, saw the US President brand the agreement a "great deal" from the Oval Office.
The move 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.
Under the deal, American tariffs on British cars fall to 10% for the first 100,000 vehicles exported to the US, while tariffs on steel are scrapped.
Steel union Community’s assistant general secretary Alasdair McDiarmid said the deal would protect jobs in the industry.
He said: “The UK Government deserves enormous credit for negotiating this deal to reduce US tariffs which would have had a hugely damaging impact on our steel sector.”
In exchange, the UK has reduced tariffs on US products including beef and ethanol, which US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick said would create 5 billion dollars in “opportunity for American exports”.
He told reporters that an unnamed British airline had agreed to buy 10 billion US dollars (£7.56 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% 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.
