Ryanair and Boeing reached an agreement on 9 may for an order of 300 new 737 Max 10 jets to be delivered between 2027 and 2033. The purchase agreement is the biggest in Ryanair’s history and includes a firm order for 150 737-10 jets and options for 150 more.
While neither side revealed the actual terms of the purchasing agreement, the order is estimated at €36.3 billion for the aircraft’s listed price, however, according to Reuters, discounts for this type of agreements can exceed 50%.
The Boeing-Ryanair partnership is one of the most productive in commercial aviation history, enabling both companies to succeed and expand affordable travel to hundreds of millions of people.
Dave Calhoun, Boeing President and CEO
“These new, fuel efficient, greener technology aircraft offer 21% more seats, burn 20% less fuel and are 50% quieter than our B737-NGs”, Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary said, adding that the new aircraft will facilitate the airline’s growth to almost double its annual traffic volume, aiming to carry over 300 million passengers by March 2034, compared to the 168 million in year end March 2023.
“I have been told to say there was a competitive discount … although I didn’t think (it) was particularly competitive”, O’Leary told reporters at the announcement press conference, revealing that an additional 100 jets were added to the deal to bring the parties closer to a convenient offer.
Ryanair exclusively operates Boeing aircraft, being one of the manufacturer’s biggest customers and the largest in Europe. Its current fleet consists of 540 planes, with 50% of the new deliveries expected to replace older Boeing 737 NGs, which only have 189 seats, increasing the fleet’s efficiency. “We’ve had to accept a modestly higher price. However, if Ryanair maintains its 94% or near-full load on flights aboard the larger MAX 10 jets, the extra 30 seats will pay for the aircraft in their entirety”, O’Leary said on Tuesday, reported by Reuters.
In addition to very significant revenue growth, the extra seats (coupled with greater fuel and carbon efficiency) will further widen Ryanair’s unit-cost advantage over all EU competitor airlines, Ryanair stated, adding that the new order will enable it to deliver sustained traffic and tourism growth at lower fares (and lower emissions per flight) across all European countries where Ryanair continues to lead the post Covid traffic, tourism and jobs recovery.
