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Chicago – Boeing is not coming out of the crisis: Persistent problems with the long-haul 787 “Dreamliner” jets cost the US aircraft manufacturer dearly. The necessary rework and the reduced production are likely to have a negative impact of around one billion dollars, said the Airbus arch-rival in Chicago on Wednesday.
This is one of the reasons why Boeing slipped back into the red in the third quarter: the bottom line was a loss of $ 132 million after a loss of $ 466 million a year earlier. In the second quarter, Boeing had made a profit for the first time since 2019. Analysts had expected black numbers on average this time as well. Shortly after the start of trading in New York, Boeing shares rose by around half a percent.
“Dreamliner” in focus
While Boeing is slowly recovering from the debacle surrounding the 737 Max aircraft, another important model is now causing problems with the 787 “Dreamliner”. Due to various production defects, the group had to stop deliveries this year and reduce production. The misery could drag on – most recently, important suppliers such as Raytheon Technologies complained about ongoing stresses due to the problems with the 787.
At Boeing itself, the “Dreamliner” breakdown series caused $ 183 million in extra costs in the most recent quarter. The group continues to speak to the US aviation authority FAA to clarify the conditions for resuming deliveries. Boeing currently only builds two machines of the type per month. As soon as deliveries are possible again, production should increase to five machines again. The production of the 737 Max is also still at a relatively low level with 19 machines per month.
The medium-haul jet is Boeing’s bestseller, but was banned from flights for around 20 months from March 2019 due to two crashes with a total of 346 deaths. The model is now allowed to take off again in large parts of the world, but the re-registration in the important Chinese market is dragging on, which could become increasingly a problem for Boeing. Nevertheless, production is set to climb to 31 copies per month as planned in early 2022.
Starliner gives Boeing special charges of 185 million dollars
Another construction site of the US aviation group remains the crisis-ridden “Starliner” spaceship, whose next test flight to the ISS space station, which was actually planned for this summer, had to be postponed to the coming year due to valve problems. The annual report now shows that Boeing had to post special charges of 185 million dollars in the past quarter because of the “Starliner” program on behalf of NASA. (awp / mc / pg)
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