Boeing i motvind - Reuters

 

Boeing discloses $1.5-billion hit from 777X output halt; submits plan for Dreamliner

Eric M. Johnson and Abhijith Ganapavaram

Wed, April 27, 2022, 1:37 PM·3 min read

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By Eric M. Johnson and Abhijith Ganapavaram

(Reuters) - Boeing Co said on Wednesday it was halting 777X production through 2023 due to a fresh delay in its entry into service after certification problems and weak demand, and disclosed $1.5 billion in abnormal costs relating to the program.

Shares of the U.S. planemaker fell 4% to $160.39 in premarket trading after it posted a quarterly loss and disclosed more than $1.2 billion in charges due to supplier costs and technical problems on its Air Force One presidential plane, T-7A Red Hawk trainer jet, and fallout from the war in Ukraine.

On the plus side, Boeing said it submitted a certification plan to U.S. air-safety regulators in a step toward resuming deliveries of its 787 Dreamliner, halted for nearly a year by inspections and repairs in an industrial headache costing about $5.5 billion.

The 787 Dreamliner, along with the 737 MAX, are vital to the financial health of Boeing, which is trying to bounce back from successive crises.

It has been producing the 787 jets at a low rate while it undertakes inspections and repairs for structural flaws amid intense regulatory scrutiny.

Boeing has "completed the required work on initial airplanes and is conducting check flights", Chief Executive Dave Calhoun told employees in a memo on Wednesday, a development that should cheer airlines that have cut back on flying long routes due to delivery delays.

Calhoun did not specify when Boeing would resume 787 deliveries. Reuters reported last week it had advised key airlines and parts suppliers that the deliveries would resume in the second half of this year.

Boeing also confirmed reports of a delay in handing over the first 777X jet to 2025, but said it remained confident in the program.

Calhoun said the halt in 777-9 production was based on a longer safety certification timeline, a risk reported by Reuters in February.

He said the pause would help minimize inventory and the number of jets requiring retrofits, while it adds to freighter capacity with a newly launched cargo spinoff of the 777X, the world's largest twin-engine passenger plane.