Boeing CEO says a major airline will likely go out of business because of the coronavirus pandemic

A Boeing 777X airplane takes off on its inaugural flight at Paine Field in Everett, Washington on January 25, 2020
(Image credit: Jason Redmond/AFP via Getty Images)

A major U.S. airline is likely to go out of business because of the coronavirus pandemic, the CEO of Boeing has predicted.

Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun spoke to Today on Tuesday about the "grave" threat the coronavirus pandemic presents to U.S. airlines as traffic plummets while Americans stay at home. When asked if a major carrier in the United States will go out of business once the bailout money from the federal government runs out, he said this will probably be the case.

"I don't want to get too predictive on that subject, but yes, most likely," Calhoun said.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Half of the rescue funds provided to the airline industry from the federal government was for payroll, and this money will run out in September, The New York Times reports.

Calhoun went on to tell Today that traffic levels won't even be back to 25 percent by September, so "there will definitely be adjustments that have to be made on the part of the airlines" at that point. He also predicted that traffic levels won't actually return to the point they were in 2019 for around "three full years." Brendan Morrow

Explore More
Brendan Morrow

Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.