'Inexcusable': Ryanair May Have to Cut Summer Schedule, Increase Fares Up to 10% Due to Issues With Boeing Aircraft Boeing was originally slated to deliver 57 aircraft to the airline by the end of April.
By Emily Rella
European discount airline Ryanair is the latest air carrier that's feeling the effects of the mass groundings and inspections of Boeing airplanes.
On Friday, Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary said during a media briefing that the airline may have to make significant cuts to its summer flight schedule due to Boeing being unable to deliver the 57 Boeing MAX 8200 planes it had promised to the airline on time.
"We don't really know how many aircraft we're going to get from Boeing," O'Leary said, per Reuters. "We're pretty sure we're going to get 30 to 40. We're reasonably confident we're between 40 and 45. And now we are far less confident we're going to get between 45 and 50."
Ryanair was supposed to receive the 57 aircraft by the end of April, but the timeline has now shifted to the end of June.
O'Leary also said that the airline may have to raise the fare of flights as much as 10% during the summer months due to the disruptions with Boeing in an attempt to make up for the cost of the delays with the aircraft.
"They keep giving us optimistic, broken promises … It's inexcusable. Boeing will try to claim that it's excusable. I think we (will) get some modest compensation out of Boeing," O'Leary said regarding the sunk cost of the delays. "At this point our focus is getting the bloody airplanes."
O'Leary's comments come weeks after the Federal Aviation Agency grounded all 737 Max 9 aircraft following an incident on an Alaska Airlines flight where an emergency door panel ripped off of the plane mid-flight.
"We deeply regret the impact this is having on our valued customer Ryanair," Boeing said. "We're working to address their concerns and taking action on a comprehensive plan to strengthen 737 quality and delivery performance."
Ryanair's potential cancelations would follow Alaska Airlines and United Airlines, which canceled and delayed hundreds of flights after the FAA ordered the 737 Max 9 ground stop. Together, Alaska and United operate over 170 Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft.
Related: Boeing Takes a hit after 737 Max grounding
Ryanair had a rough fiscal 2022, which O'Leary attributed to European conflict and other external factors, like the pandemic.
The airline's fiscal 2024 will begin in April.
