A ‘historically challenging year’ saw plane maker Boeing post an annual loss of nearly $12 billion.
I was ‘a year like no other,’ said Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun, with the company still reeling from the Boeing Max debacle as well as a depressed global market for new planes due to the Covid pandemic.
The $11.9 billion net loss was the largest in its long history and it will continue to struggle for some time.
"Despite solid progress on the vaccine front, the next six to nine months will remain very challenging for our airline customers and the entire industry," Calhoun said.
"We expect it will take around three years for travel to return to 2019 levels, and a few years beyond that to return to our long term growth trend," he said.
Demand for long haul jets like the 777 and Dreamliner is the most depressed and will take longer to recover, Boeing said.
The one recent bright spot for Boeing was the approval from the European Union to clear the Boeing Max to fly again.
Written by Ray Montgomery, US Editor
