Dave Calhoun, Chairman of Boeing
Adam Jeffery | CNBC
Boeing Chief Executive Dave Calhoun told NBC he believes a major U.S. carrier will go out of business this year.
“Yes, most likely. You know, something will happen when September comes around,” Calhoun said, in an NBC interview that will air on Tuesday.
In response to Calhoun’s comment, Boeing spokesman Gordon Johndroe said: “He was speaking to the general uncertainty in the sector, not about any one particular airline.”
He does not expect passenger traffic to reach even a quarter of its levels in September, creating the need for airlines to make “adjustments” as they weather the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Traffic levels will not be back to 100%,” Calhoun said. “They won’t even be back to 25%. Maybe by the end of the year we approach 50%. So there will definitely be adjustments that have to be made on the part of the airlines.”
—CNBC contributed to this report.
