Ryanair cuts traffic forecast as Boeing MAX delays hit summer plans
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Ryanair has said that delays to Boeing's 737 MAX deliveries will lead to a reduction in its fiscal 2025 traffic, as it would have to cut several aircraft lines of flying for the peak summer months.
The airline was due to receive 57 Boeing MAX 8200 planes by the end of April, but a deepening crisis at Boeing, which has been prohibited from ramping up 737 MAX production, means it will deliver just 40 jets before the end of June.
As a result, Ryanair said it will have to reduce around 10 aircraft lines of flying from its fleet of 600 for the peak months of July, August and September.
The airline said it had already implemented these schedule cuts at some of its higher-cost airports, most notably Dublin, Milan Malpensa, Warsaw Modlin and four Portuguese airports where it said costs are rising faster than inflation in 2024. Ryanair said that all affected passengers have been offered alternative flight times or full refunds.
“We are very disappointed at these latest Boeing delivery delays, but we continue to work with Boeing to maximise the number of new B737 aircraft we receive by the end of June," said CEO, Michael O'Leary.
"We expect these latest Boeing delivery delays combined with the grounding of up to 20% of our Airbus competitors’ A320 fleets in Europe will lead to more constrained capacity and slightly higher airfares for consumers in Europe in Summer 2024."
Mr O'Leary reiterated Ryanair's "wholehearted support" for Boeing, adding that the airline was confident its senior management team "will resolve these production delays and quality control issues."
Ryanair shares were 1% lower in early trade. Mr O'Leary had said last week that he was reasonably confident of receiving between 40 and 45 jets for the summer.
The carrier will work with Boeing to accept deliveries from July to September and deliver some traffic growth in September and October, though it said this can only be achieved at lower fares during the shoulder months.
The airline now expects fiscal 2025 traffic at under 200 million passengers, down from its 205 million target given earlier, as a result of Boeing delays.
Additional reporting from Reuters.