Ryanair has placed an order for up to 300 Boeing 737 MAX 10 aircraft, worth up to $40 billion at list prices.
The deal comprises 150 firm orders and further 150 options, with delivery scheduled between 2027 and 2033 – subject to shareholder approval.
The carrier claims it is the largest order ever placed by an Irish company for US manufactured goods, and said that it would “facilitate disciplined traffic growth of 80 per cent from 168 million in year end March 2023 to 300 million per annum by March 2034”.
Half of the deliveries will replace the airline’s older 737 NG aircraft, with the 737 MAX 10s being configured with 228 seats – 21 per cent more than the aircraft they are replacing.
Ryanair took delivery of its first Boeing 737 MAX 200 ‘Gamechanger’ aircraft in June 2021 – two years later than originally planned due to the lengthy grounding of all Max aircraft worldwide in 2019 following two fatal crashes.
The group has so far taken delivery of around half of its 210 ordered 737 MAX 200s, with the remainder set to enter service by FY25.
The new order marks a turnaround in negotiations between Ryanair and Boeing – in September 2021 the low-cost carrier said that talks over an order for 737 MAX aircraft had ended “without any agreement on pricing”.
Commenting on the news Boeing’s president and CEO, Dave Calhoun, said:
“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.
“Nearly a quarter century after our companies signed our first direct airplane purchase, this landmark deal will further strengthen our partnership.
“We are committed to delivering for Ryanair and helping Europe’s largest airline group achieve its goals by offering its customers the lowest fares in Europe.”
