news
European low-cost airline Ryanair announced Tuesday that it has agreed to purchase 10 of the 150 737 Max aircraft, its largest order ever from Boeing. The deal includes an option for the company to purchase an additional 150 jets.
Manufacturers such as Boeing typically agree to deep discounts on such large orders, but selling 150 planes at list price would be more than $20 billion. Ryanair plans to equip this plane, the largest Max model, with 228 seats, which is just short of its maximum capacity. It will be replaced and delivered between 2027 and 2033.
After price disagreements had previously broken down negotiations, Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O’Leary said he was willing to pay more after considering the benefits of the new planes. .
“If you look at the fuel performance of this aircraft, it will carry 21% more passengers but consume 20% less fuel,” he said in an interview on Tuesday. “So we have a lot more revenue and a lot more cost.”
O’Leary said the most recent negotiations began with a meeting with Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun in January.
“In about an hour in Dublin, we agreed to the general terms of the deal,” Mr O’Leary said. “Once we both decided we wanted to get this done, it went pretty quickly – much faster than previous aircraft orders, I think.”
By the time the planes are delivered, Ryanair expects to fly about 300 million passengers a year, more than double what it was before the pandemic. In the fiscal year ending March 2022, the airline flew her 97 million passengers.
The airline serves more than 230 airports in 36 countries across Europe and beyond. We fly over 500 aircraft. O’Leary said the new larger aircraft will help strengthen Ryanair’s most popular routes.
