In a move that will undoubtedly prove to be terrible optics for aerospace stock Boeing (BA), word recently emerged that Boeing will not be delivering the two jets that comprise Air Force One until mid-2028. This means that the president who ordered them, President Trump, may never actually get to fly in either one. The move hit Boeing, though not especially hard. Boeing shares slipped fractionally in Monday afternoon’s trading.
Claim 50% Off TipRanks Premium and Invest with Confidence
- Unlock hedge-fund level data and powerful investing tools designed to help you make smarter, sharper decisions
- Stay ahead of the market with the latest news and analysis so your portfolio is always positioned for maximum potential
While the exact schedule is still up in the air, the move from 2027 to mid-2028 is still likely a hard pill to swallow. The contract originally called for the two Air Force One jets to be delivered in December 2024, and Boeing is now three years past that point for projected delivery. The latest delay only makes a bad situation worse.
Trump has been vocal about his dissatisfaction, noting as far back as February that Boeing “…can never finish the damn thing.” Given the sheer number of Boeing aircraft Trump has had a personal hand in selling—all those trade deals with other countries often came with Boeing orders as countries looked for easy ways to make up deficit differences—you would think that Boeing would have stepped up its efforts. Throw in the personal hand that Elon Musk took in getting Air Force One built, and this only leaves more people with egg on their faces.
Flying the Toxic Skies
Things got worse from there, sadly, as a law professor riding in a Boeing 737 ended up suing Boeing over what he called an exposure to toxic fumes. Jonathan Harris of Philadelphia alleged that his ride in a 737 became contaminated, which is actually a common occurrence. Fresh air from a plane’s engines gets filtered through air conditioning systems. If there is a faulty seal in the engine, oil and other fumes can be released into the cabin.
This happens more than three times a day, every day, across a range of flights, reports note. So the idea that Harris might have picked up a bad lungful from somewhere is not out of line. Given that the flight’s captain addressed passengers via the intercom, apologizing for the smell, this flight may well have suffered such an incident.
Is Boeing a Good Stock to Buy Right Now?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on BA stock based on 14 Buys, two Holds and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After an 18.02% rally in its share price over the past year, the average BA price target of $249.93 per share implies 22.2% upside potential.
