The coronavirus crisis has exacerbated a drop in demand for
the industry's largest jetliners, with airline customers shunning deliveries of
planes due international travel restrictions, hurting cash flow at the US
planemaker.
In a statement, Boeing said it expects the 777X, a larger
version of the 777 mini-jumbo, to enter service by late 2023, delaying the
jet's launch for the third time and booking a $6.5 billion pre-tax charge.
The company has been developing the widebody jet with the
goal of releasing it in 2022, already two years later than planned.
A historic slump in air travel has also hurt shipments of
Boeing's 787 Dreamliners to airlines, causing the aircraft to pile up in
dozens. This is further weighing on a company that already has a stored
inventory of about 450 737 MAX jets.
Boeing said it expects to resume the shipments of its
wide-body 787 Dreamliners in 2021 as air travel recovers.
Deliveries of the 787s slumped nearly 70% to 53 planes in
2020 and are not expected to recover to 2019 levels until at least 2024,
according to analysts.
Boeing also said it has delivered an additional 13 737 MAX
airplanes in January so far from its stored inventory, adding to the 27
aircraft it shipped in December after the US cleared the jet to fly again
following a 20-month ban.
The company's net loss rose to $8.44 billion in the fourth
quarter ended December 31, from $1.01 billion a year earlier, taking its
full-year loss to a record $11.94 billion. Revenue fell 15% to $15.30 billion
in the quarter.