The low-cost carrier Ryanair has confirmed it will purchase up to 300 Boeing 737 MAX jets.
Ryanair Holdings confirmed on May 9, 2023, that the airline has ordered 150 new Boeing 737 MAX 10 aircraft for delivery between 2027 to 2033 with options for 150 more.
The total deal is valued at over $40 billion and represents the biggest purchase agreement in Ryanair’s history.
The 737 MAX 10 aircraft have 228 seats (21% more than the B737NG) and the phased deliveries between 2027 and 2033 will enable Ryanair to create more than 10,000 new high-paid jobs for pilots, cabin crew and engineers.
“Ryanair is pleased to sign this record aircraft order for up to 300 MAX-10s with our aircraft partner Boeing,” Ryanair CEO Martin O’Leary said. “This order, coupled with our remaining Gamechanger deliveries, will create 10,000 new jobs for highly paid aviation professionals over the next decade, and these jobs will be located across all of Europe’s main economies where Ryanair is currently the No.1 or No.2 airline.”
O’Leary added: “In addition to delivering significant revenue and traffic growth across Europe, we expect these new, larger, more efficient, greener, aircraft to drive further unit cost savings, which will be passed on to passengers in lower air fares.”
Boeing president and CEO, Dave Calhoun, said the aircraft manager are “committed to delivering for Ryanair”.
“The Boeing-Ryanair partnership is one of the most productive in commercial aviation history, enabling both companies to succeed and expand affordable travel to hundreds of millions of people,” Calhoun said. “Nearly a quarter century after our companies signed our first direct airplane purchase, this landmark deal will further strengthen our partnership
Speculation had been growing that an announcement was due after O’Leary said in March 2023, that Boeing and Ryanair had restarted talks.
A deal had reportedly broken down 18 months before over prices for the aircraft.
Although O’Leary admitted the talks were in the “early stages” he appeared enthusiastic about a deal being close.
“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,” O’Leary said.
Rumors increased that Ryanair would place an order for a large number of aircraft on May 8, 2023, after two “insiders” contacted Reuters.
The news agency said it has been told that the order would be for over 100 Boeing jets.
Bloomberg later reported that the deal was for around 150 737 MAX jets with the option for a further 50.
Given the size and scale of the transaction, it will be subject to shareholder approval at Ryanair’s September 14, 2023, Annual General Meeting.
