(Reuters) – Boeing Co on Wednesday reported a smaller quarterly loss, helped by an improvement in aircraft deliveries as its 737 MAX jets come back on line and airlines prepare for a recovery in travel this summer.
Airlines have been ramping up flight capacity as rising vaccination rates make travelers confident about traveling once again.
That has boosted deliveries of Boeing’s fast-selling 737 MAX plane after it was cleared by regulators to re-enter service late last year following two fatal accidents, lifting revenue and cash flow at the planemaker.
A new electric problem found on some models of the jet earlier this month, however, has cast a shadow on Boeing’s plan to increase the 737 MAX production rate of 31 planes per month by early 2022, as airlines have pulled dozens of 737 MAX jets from service, awaiting repairs as Boeing finds a fix.
The U.S. planemaker reported a core operating loss of $353 million in the first quarter ended March 31, compared with a loss of $1.70 billion a year earlier.
Boeing said it recorded a pre-tax charge of $318 million in the quarter related to a new fleet of Air Force One presidential aircraft based on its 747-8 jumbo jet.
(Reporting by Eric M. Johnson in Seattle and Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)
