Delta routes new Airbus plane to Tokyo to sidestep Trump tariffs
Delta Air Lines is flying a new Airbus SE plane through Japan to skirt U.S. import tariffs as President Donald Trump's trade war threatens the flow of new jets to the aviation industry.
The A350-900 aircraft is set to leave Toulouse, France, home of Airbus' main manufacturing facility, on April 30, arriving in Tokyo on May 1, according to data from FlightAware, an online tracking provider.
The move echoes a similar strategy Delta used to sidestep tariffs in 2019, flying several European-built Airbus jets to overseas locations rather than straight to the U.S. Planes are classified as "used' once they're flown for any reason other than testing and delivery, and then tariffs usually don't apply.
Delta declined to comment on the aircraft routing.
Chief Executive Officer Ed Bastian said on April 9 that the airline "will not be paying tariffs on any aircraft deliveries' and he'd made it "very clear' to Airbus that he would defer any planes carrying a tariff. American Airlines CEO Robert Isom also later vowed not to pay levies.
Delta has said it plans to take only 10 aircraft this year, all from Airbus. Airbus is in the process of producing several A330neo jets for the Atlanta-based carrier, with one having completed a customer acceptance flight and at least two others still undergoing flight tests, according to Aviation Flights Group data.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Nikkei Asia
4 hours ago
- Nikkei Asia
US trade with Asia slumps in April amid Trump tariffs
NEW YORK -- The global trade deficit for the U.S. shrank by 46% to $87.4 billion in April as the flow of goods from Asia came to a halt following President Donald Trump's sweeping tariff policies covering nearly all trading partners. The trade deficit in April shrank for nearly all Asian countries, except for Taiwan and Vietnam, where the value of imports was slightly higher than the month before. Imports for Vietnamese goods rose $0.6 billion to $15.7 billion and Taiwan imports grew $1.4 billion to $14.6 billion. The U.S. trade deficit with China shrunk the largest for Asian nations in April to $19.7 billion.
Nikkei Asia
4 hours ago
- Nikkei Asia
Xi talks with Trump, Chinese media reports
NEW YORK -- Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke over the telephone with U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday, according to Chinese state media Xinhua news agency, ending a monthslong standoff. The call comes following Trump's accusation that Beijing had violated a trade truce reached in May, where U.S. levies on Chinese imports were slashed from 145% to 30% for 90 days.
Nikkei Asia
4 hours ago
- Nikkei Asia
Japan to propose China countermeasure package at next US tariff talks
TOKYO -- At its next round of tariff negotiations, Japan will present the U.S. with a cooperation package focusing on supply chains for Chinese rare earths and American liquefied natural gas that have been disrupted by U.S.-China tensions. China has curbed exports of seven types of rare earths and stopped procuring LNG from the U.S. By filling in some of these gaps and putting the focus on China, which President Donald Trump has made the largest target of his tariffs, Japan hopes to draw concessions.
