Ryanair expects no delay to $40bn Boeing Max 10 order after blowout incident

Ryanair said in a statement to the Irish Examiner it doesn't expect the Boeing Max 9 grounding to have any impact on the delivery of the new Max 10 aircraft

A panel used to plug an area reserved for an exit door on the Boeing 737 Max 9 jetliner blew out on January 5, shortly after the flight took off from Portland in Oregon

Ryanair's huge $40bn order for the new Max 10 planes starting delivery three years from now won't be affected by the serious issue for Boeing that involved a panel blowout on an airborne Max 9 plane in the US, the airline has said.   

Friday's incident involved a Boeing 737 Max 9 plane when a large cabin panel blew out at 16,000 feet as an Alaska Airlines flight climbed out of Portland in Oregon.  

Regulators in the US and elsewhere called a temporary grounding of some types of the Max 9 craft for safety checks, which although not as severe as the grounding of all the Max-series planes, has nonetheless again raised alarm over safety processes at Boeing. 

It was the latest incident since fatal crashes first plunged the giant US manufacturer into crisis five years ago. Fierce scrutiny at the time was placed on the US Federal Aviation Administration, or FAA, which led to a shakeup of the way the regulator deals with airline makers.    

Airlines, including Ryanair, have placed huge orders for new Max series planes -- the Max 10s. They will be watching closely for any new production issues at Boeing. However, Ryanair said it still expects to start taking delivery of the Max 10s on schedule, despite Friday's incident involving the Max 9 plane. 

“Ryanair notes the grounding of the Boeing 737 Max 9 series aircraft. Ryanair has no Max 9 aircraft in service or on order," the airline said in a statement to the Irish Examiner. "The issue which affected the Alaska aircraft does not apply to the Max 8 aircraft, which Ryanair operates, or the Max 10s which Ryanair have on order. Ryanair does not expect the Max 9 grounding to have any impact on either the Max 8 or the Max 10 aircraft,” it said.  

In May last year, Ryanair placed an order for 300 new Max 10 planes, a deal worth over $40bn (€36.4bn) that marked one of the world's largest for the new Max 10s. The airline said it expected to start taking delivery of the aircraft from 2027. 

Boeing chief executive Dave Calhoun said at the time its partnership with Ryanair was “one of the most productive in commercial aviation history”. Boeing has struggled to recover since the Lion Air Max plane crashed in Indonesia in 2018, killing all 189 people on board. The following year, the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines Max killed all 157 people on the flight. Friday's blowout incident involving the Alaska Airlines Max 9 above Portland will raise fresh alarm among regulators about safety processes at Boeing and its suppliers.  

In late 2020, the US Congress legislated to reform the FAA regulator and the ways that manufacturers must disclose safety information to the regulator. A committee had found Boeing failed in the development of the Max planes, while the FAA had failed in its key oversight role. 

In August last year, Boeing disclosed a new supplier problem that involved the wrong holes having been drilled in the bulkhead of some planes. Experts have said the temporary grounding of the Max 9 planes following Friday's blowout incident will likely be soon be lifted, but the event has nonetheless drawn further focus on Boeing and its suppliers.