NEW YORK:
Boeing reported a second-quarter loss of $2.9 billion on Wednesday as the grounding of 737 Max following two deadly
crashes continues to weigh on the company.
The loss, the biggest ever in a single quarter for the aerospace giant, follows last week’s announcement that Boeing would set aside $4.9 billion after taxes to compensate airlines for cancelled flights and the delay in plane deliveries. Revenues tumbled 35.1% to $15.8 billion, reflecting the hit from a halt to deliveries of the 737 Max, a top-selling plane.
Boeing also pushed back the timeframe for first flights of the 777X, a new long-haul plane under development. It pointed to problems with the 777X engine, which is being built by General Electric.
The 737 Max has been grounded since mid-March following the second of two crashes that together claimed 346 lives. Boeing is developing a software fix to address a problem with a flight handling system that was linked to both crashes.
“We will submit the final software package to the FAA once we have satisfied all of their certification requirements,” Boeing said.