Ryanair pulls plug on Boeing plane order talks over price concerns

Michael O'Leary has repeatedly played down the prospect of a dramatic defection to Boeing rival Airbus.

Ryanair has scrapped plans to buy more Boeing jets.

Boeing faces a standoff with one of its biggest customers after Ryanair said it had ended talks over a purchase of 737-Max-10 jets worth tens of billions of dollars due to differences over price.

The rare decision to go public over big-ticket plane negotiations comes after months of wrangling that had already delayed a deal for the largest version of the 737-Max when Ryanair re-ordered a smaller model in December.

A large new Ryanair order would provide a boost to the US planemaker as it rebuilds confidence in the Max, grounded for 20 months until November after two fatal crashes. It would also speed a tentative industry recovery from the pandemic.

Ryanair – Europe’s largest low fares carrier - is already the region's largest Max customer with 210 of the 197-seat Max-8-200 planes on order. It has dangled a fresh order, potentially worth $33bn (€28bn), at list prices for up to 250 of the 230-seat Max-10 jets.

Even after steep industry-wide discounts such a deal would still be worth well over $10bn, analysts estimate.

But last week, Ryanair group chief executive Michael O'Leary poured cold water on chances of a quick deal, saying he would be surprised if agreement was reached this year.

Now, he has said talks have collapsed.

"We are disappointed we couldn’t reach agreement," Mr O'Leary said. "However, Boeing have a more optimistic outlook on aircraft pricing than we do, and we have a disciplined track record of not paying high prices for aircraft."

Boeing also vowed to exercise discipline.

"Ryanair is a long-standing partner. We value their business and are committed to supporting them," a Boeing spokesperson said. 

"At the same time, we continue to be disciplined and make decisions that make sense for our customers and our company."

While Ryanair has nominally ended talks, analysts said it is gambling that public pressure will lure Boeing to the table with an improved offer as the planemaker juggles the fallout from the Max crisis, uncertainty over Covid and industrial woes.

Boeing, however, appears to believe the market is finally moving in its direction after winning a series of orders including 150 Max-10 planes from United Airlines.

Industry experts say Ryanair is one of two budget kingpins alongside Southwest that can insist on best prices from Boeing.

The spread of Covid variants and public acceptance of the Max will help determine whether prices have further room to fall or whether Ryanair, one the industry's toughest negotiators, has missed the bottom of the market for the largest Max model.

Mr O'Leary has repeatedly played down the prospect of a dramatic defection to Boeing rival Airbus. He did, however, pointedly refer to the fact that other Boeing customers had done deals with Airbus.

-Reuters