Ryanair 'closes in on additional Boeing 737 Max jets order' 

Airline has been negotiating to expand its order as part of discussions with Boeing over compensation for delays caused by the grounding of the aircraft

Boeing 737 Max jets after two crashes involving the aircraft.

Ryanair is close to placing its delayed order for dozens of additional Boeing 737 Max jets in a commercial boost to the US planemaker after regulators lifted a 20-month safety grounding, industry sources said.

The airline, which has an option to expand its current order by 75 jets to 210 aircraft, declined to comment. 

Ryanair has been negotiating for months to expand its order for 135 aircraft as part of discussions with Boeing over compensation for delays caused by the grounding, but no decision had been expected until the plane was cleared to resume flights.

US and European regulators lifted the almost two-year flight ban last month following changes to cockpit software and training.

Ryanair is one of Boeing’s largest worldwide customers and an order from the carrier is seen as a pivotal moment in efforts by Boeing to rehabilitate the troubled 737-Max, once its fastest-selling model.

The upgraded single-aisle jet was grounded in March 2019 following crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia in which a total of 346 people died, spawning multiple investigations.

Each Max is worth about $125m (€104m) at list prices but jets typically sell for closer to half their catalogue value and Ryanair is expected to win even steeper discounts for placing a key order amid cancellations by some buyers, the sources said.

Alaska Airlines last month agreed to lease 13 Boeing Max jets.

Aviation photographer Michael Kelly tweeted a picture of a Boeing-operated private jet landing in Dublin, fuelling speculation that Ryanair bosses would travel to the US for an announcement, echoing a previous Boeing jet deal.

In a further move to restore the jet’s reputation, American Airlines was due to make the first post-grounding demonstration flight with media. 

The flight from the airline’s base in Dallas, Texas, to Tulsa, Oklahoma, comes weeks before the airline’s first commercial flight on December 29, and is part of a PR effort by the planemaker and airlines to rehabilitate the jet’s image following the ban. 

• Reuters