April 29, 2021: -On Wednesday, Boeing posted its sixth consecutive quarterly loss as the pandemic continues to weigh on jetliner demand but expects 2021 to be a turning point as people are now mostly vaccinated.

The plane manufacturer had a net loss of $561 million for the first three months of 2021 on revenue of $15.2 billion, 10% less than last year but ahead of analysts’ estimates.

On an adjusted per-share basis, Boeing had a loss of $1.53, a narrower loss than the adjusted $1.70 per share loss it reported a year ago. The company said a $318 million pre-tax charge related to issues with a supplier in its modified 747 planes used as Air Force One.

Boeing struggles from the pandemic’s impact on travel and aircraft sales and the extended grounding of its best-selling 737 Max aircraft after two fatal crashes killed 346 people.

Revenue in its commercial airplane unit was less than 31% from a year ago to $4.27 billion through deliveries for new planes risen to 77 from 50. Boeing also logged recent sales from customers such as United and Southwest Airlines to return to plans to update their fleets and prepare for growth. In March, Boeing’s new aircraft orders outpaced cancellations for the first time since 2019.

Last month, Boeing restarted it’s wide-body 787 planes after reporting production problems last year, but sales have been slow, with long-haul international travel still down sharply in the pandemic.

In a presentation, the company cited the pace of vaccinations and infection rates, U.S.-China relations, and the remaining 737 Max regulatory approvals, such as China, among the risks to demand aircraft.

“While the global pandemic keeps on challenging the overall market environment, we view 2021 as a key inflection point for our industry as vaccine distribution accelerates, and we work together across government and industry to help enable a robust recovery,” CEO Dave Calhoun said in the earnings release. Boeing shares are up about 13% this year as of Tuesday’s close, compared with an 11.5% gain in the S&P 500.