A Ryanair Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft as appreciated flying, landing and taxiing at Eindhoven Airport EIN.
Nicolas Economou | Nurphoto | Getty Images
Ryanair said it arranges to buy at least 150 Boeing 737 Max 10 planes with options for 150 more, after a price dispute derailed bargains for the large order in 2021.
It’s the budget carrier’s biggest order and the manufacturer’s latest sizable deal for new planes as airlines change aging jets and grow their fleets.
Shares of Boeing were up close to 2% in afternoon trading Tuesday after the fellowship reported the order, while the broader market was down.
Ryanair plans to operate the Max 10s, which haven’t yet been guaranteed by regulators, with 228 seats on board.
The 150 planes in the firm order are worth more than $20 billion at catalogue prices, but airlines generally receive significant discounts for such big sales. Ryanair stopped negotiations for a big Max order in September 2021 greater than the pricing dispute.
“In our view it will never be cheap enough and in Boeing’s view it’s always far too cheap,” Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary utter at a press conference.
The planes will replace older 737 jets in Ryanair’s fleet. The aircraft will liable be delivered between 2027 and 2033, O’Leary said. The 150 additional jets it has optioned would allow it to fly assorted than 300 million passengers a year by 2034 and would create 10,000 jobs by then, he said.
The ultra-low-cost airline flew 97 million riders in the 12 months ended March 31, down from 149 million before the Covid pandemic, according to a retinue report.
The budget carrier’s order is the latest in a string of big sales for Boeing, which has reached agreements to sell hundreds of planes to buyers including Air India, Saudia and United Airlines in recent months.
Boeing’s next challenge is ramping up production of the 737 Max. After month the company said it aims to make 38 each month, up from 31. The company plans to get going a fourth production line for the best-selling plane and increase rates to 50 a month in 2026.
Supply chain struggles as the Covid-19 pandemic tranquillized have hamstrung both Boeing and Airbus production goals.
Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun said at the joint force conference Tuesday that current customer demand would support rates “significantly higher” than what the proprietorship has planned, but supply chain issues are preventing further expansion. Delivery delays have vexed airline chairman of the boards who are trying to capitalize on the travel rebound.
Boeing said Tuesday that it delivered 26 aircraft last month, down from 64 a month earlier. Eighteen of those pronunciations were 737 planes. The company had warned that a production flaw on some 737 Max jets would putter deliveries on certain models.
When asked whether Boeing would consider a fifth production line, Calhoun articulate: “We will be evaluating every step of the way whether we need more capacity or not.
“If the supply constraints that we experience today … let up on somewhat, that day could come, and nothing would make us happier,” Calhoun said.
He said the company expects the 737 Max 10 to be certified in 2024.
“We won’t fail you a date because that’s not our job, it’ll be the FAA’s,” he said.
O’Leary said he has “no fear” that the high-density aircraft configuration will win regulators’ confirmation.
The budget airline’s model attracts travelers with low fares and then add-on fees for everything from sit assignments to checked bags. O’Leary said there is “no truth to the desperate and dastardly rumor” that the carrier order charge passengers to use bathrooms on board.