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Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN) – Boeing has spent the past few years trying to reassure customers, regulators and the general public that its aircraft are safe … But today, its attempts may be much more difficult.
And airlines in the United States, South Korea and Japan have stopped dozens of Boeing 777s, after one of the planes suffered an engine failure on Saturday, which led to the fall of debris over the city of Denver, Colorado, USA.
On Sunday, Boeing advised airlines to suspend flights of Pratt & Whitney 4000-12 powered aircraft, while US authorities are investigating the Denver accident. The aircraft manufacturer also said there are 69 of these aircraft in service and 59 of them in storage.
The company’s shares were down 3% in pre-market trading after rising 4.3% on Friday.
The investment in Boeing, the US industry giant, was once seen as a safe bet for investors who believe in the strength of the US economy, but the aircraft manufacturer has been struggling since the suspension of its 737 Max aircraft in March of 2019, after two accidents that resulted in 346 people were killed. The US Federal Aviation Administration did not lift the flight restrictions until November of last year.
This has caused Boeing, which has also been hit by a drop in demand for air travel in the wake of the pandemic, with a huge loss of about $ 12 billion in 2020.
The company’s chief executive, Dave Calhoun, has warned that the coming months will remain difficult. In January, the company said it would delay delivery of its first new aircraft, the 777X, until 2023. The long-range aircraft was designed for use predominantly in international travel.
Measures to reduce the size of the company are also set to continue, as Boeing expects to reduce the number of its employees to 130,000 by the end of 2021, compared to 161,000 employees at the beginning of 2020.
Before last weekend, there were signs that the company was finally starting to resume business as normal. Boeing delivered 26 aircraft in January, which helped mitigate the impact of more than 400 accumulated 737 MAX aircraft manufactured. However, it could not be delivered during the 20-month suspension period. The company gets most of its money from sales of aircraft on delivery.
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