The Irish ultra-low-cost carrier Ryanair has restarted negotiations with Boeing for a new order of Boeing 737 MAX jets, possibly for the 737 MAX 10 or 737 MAX-8200, according to an interview by CEO Michael O’Leary with the Financial Times.

New order with Boeing?

On Thursday, the Financial Times reported Ryanair is optimistic about striking a major new aircraft order with Boeing. The Irish low-cost carrier has restarted negotiation talks with the US manufacturer.

Michael O’Leary was quoted saying there was a ‘deal to be done,’ and said the negotiations between Ryanair and Boeing are in “the early stages” for a new order of 737 MAX jets. According to Boeing’s order & deliveries database, Ryanair has unfilled orders for 117 B737 MAX narrowbody jets currently.

“We are back talking to them, which I think is an indication there is some movement on pricing . . . I think there is a deal to be done,” said O’Leary in an interview. He added that the order could be for the 737 MAX 10 or the MAX 8-200, which was designed exclusively for Ryanair as an ultra-dense narrowbody capable of carrying 210 passengers. Simple Flying recently published a flight review onboard a Ryanair MAX 8-200 between Dublin and Vilnius, which you can read and see here.

In 2021, Ryanair pulled the plug on discussions to acquire the 737 MAX 10 after a long-running negotiation over price.

Ryanair’s previous doubts

Michael O’Leary is well-known for openly criticizing Boeing’s performance over the last few years. When the airline stopped its negotiations for the MAX 10, the CEO said he did not share Boeing’s optimistic pricing outlook and understood why, at that moment, other large Boeing customers, such as Delta and Jet2, had placed new orders with Airbus instead.

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The Irish carrier has also shared its skepticism about Boeing's timelines in deliveries. O’Leary has stated that Boeing faces schedule challenges due to bad management in Seattle instead of supply issues. Additionally, Boeing has been unable to get the MAX 7 and MAX 10 certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which has undoubtedly increased the frustration in Ryanair’s headquarters.

Despite the headwinds, Ryanair has maintained loyal to Boeing. In 2021, O’Leary said that the company had a more than sufficient order pipeline to grow strongly over the next five years, raising its fleet to over 600 aircraft. As of 2023, Ryanair is the biggest airline in most European markets due to its low fares. It has 90 bases across its network, flying on 2,400 routes across 37 countries, and anticipates handling 225 million yearly passengers by 2026.

Ryanair’s fleet

According to data from ch-aviation, Ryanair currently has a fleet of 495 aircraft, all Boeing 737-family-based. The low-cost airline also owns 29 Airbus A320-200s wet-leased to Lauda Europe.

Ryanair operates one Boeing 737-700, 94 Boeing 737-8-200s, and 397 B737-800s. The average age of its fleet is 13.1 years old.

Which model should Ryanair pick for its next with Boeing? Let us know in the comments below.

Source: The Financial Times, ch-aviation.

• 

  Ryanair

  IATA/ICAO Code:

  FR/RYR

  Airline Type:

  Low-Cost Carrier

  Hub(s):

  Dublin Airport, London Stansted Airport, Milan Bergamo Airport

  Year Founded:

  1985

  Airline Group:

  Ryanair Group

  CEO:

  Eddie Wilson

  Country:

  Ireland

• 

  Boeing

  Stock Code:

  BA

  Date Founded:

  1916-07-15

  CEO:

  Dave Calhoun

  Headquarters Location:

  Chicago, USA

  Key Product Lines:

  Boeing 737, Boeing 747, Boeing 757, Boeing 767, Boeing 777, Boeing 787

  Business Type:

  Planemaker