Ryanair CEO, Michael O’Leary has warned that plane tickets for the low-cost carrier would rise by up to 10% this summer due to Boeing not fulfilling its delivery commitments.
From the 57 Boeing 737 Max 8200’s that Boeing was supposed to deliver by the end of March, O’Leary thinks the airline would receive between 30 and 40 planes, maybe between 45 and 50, but the CEO is “far less confident” about that number.
“It’s inexcusable. Boeing will try to claim that it’s excusable. I think we (will) get some modest compensation out of Boeing”, O’Leary said. “At the point our focus is getting the bloody airplanes.”
Ryanair has already had to adapt its summer schedule due to the same delays. For the year up to March 2024, the delays mean that the low-cost carrier would be able to transport 183.5 million passengers instead of the initially projected 185 million. In January, O’Leary said that instead of 205 million passengers, the airline will probably only carry 200 million during the financial year starting in April 2024, but he has explained that the reduced capacity will translate to passengers having to pay between 5% and 10% more for tickets.
Earlier this year, in the aftermath of part of a Boeing 737 Max 9 plane falling out in the middle of an Alaska Airlines flight, Ryanair CEO, Michael O’Leary, has told the Financial Times that the aircraft manufacturer needs to “significantly improve quality control”.
The incident led to the grounding by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of all 737 Max 9s with the configuration of the Alaska Airlines one. Sine then, preliminary investigations have revealed faulty hardware, loose bolts, ignored warnings from pilots and Boeing CEO, Dave Calhoun, admitted the company’s mistake in the incident.
As one of Boeing’s largest customers, having placed a historic order of 300 jets worth over €36 billion in May 2023, the delivery delays combined with an unavoidable short term reluctance from passengers of flying on a 737, regardless of its configuration, will impact the airline by 2-2.5%, according to O’Leary.
This is not the first time O’Leary criticises Boeing and its management. One year prior to placing the large order, the CEO said the aircraft manufacturer needed either a “reboot or a boot up the ass”. Saying that management was “running around like headless chickens”, he prompted them to “get their shit together”.
