It has been three months since Ryanair's first MAX 8 – called the "MAX 200" – entered commercial service from Dublin to London Stansted. With 197 seats, the Ryanair Group currently has 19 of the new aircraft across Ryanair itself, Buzz, and Malta Air. This raises the question: where will they fly in October?

B737 MAX
Ryanair previously said that delays in MAX deliveries was the reason it shut its Nuremberg. It said the same for closing Stockholm Skavsta too, which has since shifted to Arlanda. Photo: Ryanair.

190 routes to see the MAX

The Ryanair Group expects to use the MAX on 190 routes in October, based on the latest schedules information submitted to data experts OAG. This means that some 9% of the Group's total routes in October – around 2,088 – will see the brand-new aircraft.

While you may think 190 routes seems a lot, bear in mind that the average number of flights per route is just nine in the month, not much at all. Indeed, some 145 routes – out of the 190 – will see the MAX nine times or less often. With one outbound flight on three Sundays, Stansted to Verona will see it the least.

In all, the MAX is down to operate 3,336 flights, OAG data indicates, or about 108 a day. While this may change, it is about 4.7% of the Group's total movements in October.

Ryanair MAX
This photo was taken on September 26th while boarding EI-HGR, a MAX delivered in July, from Verona to London Stansted. Photo: via James Pearson - Simple Flying.

Only four routes served daily+

The latest schedules information shows that only four routes will see the MAX on a daily+ basis, as shown below. The importance of London Stansted and Milan Bergamo – Ryanair's first and third-largest airports – for MAX flights is clear to see. Between them, they have 79% of the 3,336 movements and 133 of the 190 routes.

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If all of the UK and Italy is examined, MAX domination rises to 88% of flights and 162 routes. There is a parallel of sorts with Volotea. In March, we found that its A320s, which have lower seat-mile costs and more revenue opportunities than its A319s, initially mainly used them to, from, and within Italy, where it has the most competition.

  • Brindisi to Milan Bergamo: 35 outbound flights planned by the MAX in October
  • London Stansted to Sofia: 35
  • Bergamo to Naples: 35
  • Stansted to Tenerife South: 33
  • Lisbon to Bergamo: 26
  • Stansted to Thessaloniki: 26
  • Stansted to Paphos: 25
  • Lamezia Terme to Bergamo: 23
  • Catania to Bergamo: 22
  • Stansted to Pisa: 22
  • Lanzarote to Stansted: 21
  • Stansted to Malaga: 21
  • Bergamo to Rhodes: 21
  • Cologne to Bergamo: 20
  • Fuerteventura to Bergamo: 18
  • Ibiza to Stansted: 18
Ryanair MAX routes in October 2021
Although a mess of a map, this is is where Ryanair has scheduled its MAXs in October. Image: GCMap.

MAX routes are 23% longer

Ryanair's average sector length in October is 627 nautical miles, OAG shows. Its MAX routes, however, average 773nm, almost one-quarter longer. The lower fuel burn of the new variant versus the B737-800 NG, the world's most successfully B737, makes this a no-brainer, likewise more seats to sell to increase sector revenue. Route performance should improve further.

Ryanair MAX
Stansted and Bergamo are all-important for Ryanair's B737 MAXs in October. Photo: used with the permission of John Ballantyne.

At 1,725 nautical miles, Stansted to Paphos is the longest route that will see the MAX 200, followed by Bologna to Tenerife South (1,660nm), Bergamo to Tenerife South (1,635), Bologna to Gran Canaria (1,620nm), and Stansted to Tenerife South (1,617nm).

Have you flown the B737 MAX yet? If so, where did you go, and with what airline? Let us know in the comments.