Ryanair buys 150 new 737-10s in Boeing’s largest-ever order
London (CNN) Ryanair has agreed to buy 150 of the new Boeing 737-10s, and has taken out options for 150 more, resulting in the largest order ever placed by an Irish company for goods manufactured in the United States.
The deal is worth $40 billion at list prices. Ryanair (My opinion) He said in a statement on Tuesday that did not include any of the sharp criticism CEO Michael O’Leary previously leveled at Boeing for delays in delivering planes ordered by the airline.
Boeing’s share price rose more than 3% in New York. Ryanair stock rose 2%.
Airplanes, larger Boeing (Bachelor’s) The 737 MAX will be delivered between 2027 and 2033. Europe’s largest low-cost carrier said the purchase would help it increase passenger numbers from 168 million in the year to March 2023 to 300 million by March 2034.
“This new order will enable Ryanair to deliver sustainable growth in traffic and tourism at lower fares (and lower emissions per flight) across all European countries as Ryanair continues to lead post-Covid traffic, tourism and job recovery,” added Ryanair.
The low-cost carrier has recovered from the pandemic faster than most of the airline industry, increasing market share as many competitors go bankrupt or cut their fleets and passenger capacity.
Ryanair reported record profits for the three months through December 31, after increasing airfares by 14% compared to the pre-pandemic level. It will report earnings for the full year on May 22nd.
Ryanair and Boeing on better terms
On Tuesday, O’Leary said the carrier is “delighted to have signed this record-breaking aircraft order” for “larger, more efficient and environmentally friendly aircraft.”
The airline’s outspoken boss last year broke off talks with Boeing over a price dispute and called the company’s management “headless chickens” in a profanity-laced barbs of delivery delays.
Asked during an interview with CNBC on Tuesday whether he regretted those comments, O’Leary said he did not, though he added, “I often mouth it off, and not necessarily accurately.”
“It’s a bit like getting married. We have fights now and then, we fight every now and then, but we kiss and make up and then I push.”
In the same interview, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun said he was okay with O’Leary’s past criticism.
“It was obvious,” he said. “His emotions showed.” “That was a very important message for Boeing for me to hear, for me to hear, for our team in Seattle to hear.”
At a news conference Tuesday, O’Leary said Boeing has made significant progress in catching up, according to Reuters. On pricing, Ryanair CEO He said, “In our view it will never be cheap enough, and in Boeing’s view it is always too cheap.”
The transaction will be subject to shareholder approval at Ryanair’s annual shareholder meeting in September. Ryanair is one of Boeing’s largest customers, with more than 600 planes in its fleet or on order, according to its website.
The deal is rare good news for Boeing, which has struggled to recover from two fatal 737 Max crashes. The planemaker reported just one quarter of profit since the 737 Max was grounded for 20 months starting in March 2019.
Boeing has fallen far behind its competition Airbus (EADSF) in single-aisle aircraft sales that dominate the commercial aircraft market. But it has also had problems in the widebody segment where it is most competitive.
It had to halt deliveries of the 787 Dreamliners for more than a year due to quality control issues and delaying final development of its newest widebody aircraft, the 777X, which now won’t be ready until at least 2025.
— Chris Isidore contributed reporting.
