Ryanair to be short at least seven new Boeing planes following delays

Michael O'Leary said if the airline is left short of more than seven Boeing deliveries this summer, then it will have to look again at passenger traffic outlook. 

Ryanair expects to be at least seven Boeing deliveries short this summer but “there’s a risk that it could be worse” which could force it to revise its passenger numbers forecast, the company’s chief executive Michael O'Leary has said.

Boeing’s 737 production line is currently under a US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) audit following an incident on January 5 which saw a door plug blow off in mid-flight from an Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9.

The FAA has also prohibited Boeing from increasing its Max production rate without its permission.

"We still think it's somewhere between seven and 10 but there's a risk it could be worse than that. A lot depends on what comes out of the FAA review which is due to complete, I think, in two weeks' time," Mr O’Leary told Reuters.

Ryanair, Europe's largest airline by passenger numbers and one of Boeing's main customers, has ordered more than 350 Max jets in recent years, but has none of the Max 9 variant.

There was no mention of a delivery schedule for Ryanair’s Max 10 aircraft and whether they could possibly be delayed. 

Last year, the airline announced it would spend $40bn on 300 of these aircraft, with delivery due to begin in 2027.

"I certainly wouldn't say the worst could be 10. It could be more than that. But we've no idea," he said.

No impact on share price

Despite the potential delivery delays, the airline’s share price wasn’t impacted, remaining above €20 on Tuesday.

"The [Boeing] management team in Seattle don't appear to have a grip on the situation at the moment. In their defence it's in the lap of the FAA and we would like to see a more expeditious outcome coming from both the FAA oversight and then Boeing ... getting their act together," he said.

A bigger shortfall in plane deliveries by a cut-off date of July 10 could impact Ryanair's passenger traffic outlook further, he said.

"If we are left short of more than seven aircraft then we're looking again at our full-year traffic," Mr O'Leary said.

"Our full-year traffic this year is about 183.5 [million passengers]. Next year we're looking at something just over 200 million and we've pared that back from kind of 205 to maybe 201.

"There's a risk to maybe the 200 — it might be 199, 199.5. We don't know," he said.

Reuters