Boeings inntekter faller vesentlig, og det før rettssakene begynner..... Washington Post

Boeing’s third-quarter revenue and profit fall as costs of the 737 Max crisis accumulate

CEO says further delay in returning the jet to service may lead to production cuts or even ‘temporary shutdown’ of the Max line

Boeing 737 Max airplanes are stored in an area adjacent to Boeing Field in Seattle. After a pair of crashes, the 737 Max has been grounded by the Federal Aviation Administration and other aviation agencies since March 13. (Stephen Brashear/Getty Images/Bloomberg News)

By

Douglas MacMillan 

Oct. 23, 2019 at 7:07 p.m. GMT+2

Boeing’s latest dismal financial results underscore how swiftly the worldwide grounding of the 737 Max has choked off the company’s No. 1 line of business — and how urgently Boeing needs the jet back in the air.

Revenue fell to $20 billion in the third quarter, down 21 percent from a year earlier, Boeing said in a statement Wednesday. Profit fell 51 percent to $1.17 billion.

Amid sharply slowing sales, Boeing desperately needs regulators to approve its proposed software fixes for the 737 Max in the coming months. Airlines have said they plan to return the jet to service as soon as January — but that timeline hinges on Boeing satisfying global authorities, some of whom appear increasingly frustrated with the company’s response to the safety issues surrounding the Max.

Boeing said its latest financial results assume the 737 Max fixes will be approved by regulators by the end of the year. The company said it plans to increase production of the jet to 57 per month by late 2020, up from its pace of 42 a month now. Boeing had lowered its production from 52 a month after the grounding in March.