NEW YORK: Boeing concluded a bruising 2020 on Wednesday with another unpleasant surprise: a $6.5 billion hit from delays to its new 777X plane that exacerbated its annual loss.
The aerospace giant, which saw its revenues ravaged by the commercial airline downturn due to Covid-19 and the 20-month grounding of its 737 MAX model, now expects first deliveries of the widebody 777X in late 2023, compared with the earlier time-table of 2022.
The accounting for the 777X prolongation pushed Boeing’s fourth-quarter loss to $8.4 billion, plunging its tally for all of 2020 to $11.9 billion in the red.
The past year “was a year of profound societal and global disruption which significantly constrained our industry,” said chief executive Dave Calhoun. “The deep impact of the pandemic on commercial air travel, coupled with the 737 MAX grounding, challenged our results.
