Boeing 787 and 777 Production Cut as COVID Impacts Sales

American aircraft manufacturer Boeing (symbol BA.N) announced on Wednesday that it would be cutting production on its flagship 787 and 777 aircraft lines on the back of higher than anticipated losses due to the coronavirus pandemic that has cut a swathe through the United States.

The company also announced a further delay in the planned production of their 737 MAX. The much loves 747 Jumbo has also fallen victim to the dramatic world-wide fall in air travel numbers caused by COVID-19.

The last 747 is expected to roll out of their Seattle production facility around 2022.

Boeing Chief Executive Dave Calhoun was laconic:

“Air travel has always proven to be resilient – and so has Boeing.”

The planemaker, already hampered by the 16-month ban imposed on the 737 MAX after several high-profile fatal crashes, announced it would be unable to reach the projected monthly production of 31 planes for the MAX. The global downturn in air travel caused by the coronavirus pandemic has decimated demand for new jets, with a large number of pre-covid orders canceled or significantly reduced.

The company plans to reduce 787 productions to just six planes a month in 2021. This was the third drop in production rates from 12 months ago when it was producing Dreamliners at a record rate of 14 planes per month.

Losses per share for Boeing amounted to $4.79, compared to analyst projections of $2.54 per share.

Sales for the quarter fell by almost 25% to $11.81bn, missing market estimates of $13.16bn.