Despite Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary’s prior detrimental comments on Boeing management, it seems the lifting of the global health emergency by WHO has prompted the Ireland-based airline to announce a huge purchase of Boeing’s largest 737 variant.
Ryanair said it plans to buy at least 150 Boeing 737 10 Max planes with options for 150 more.
The 150 planes in the firm order are worth more than $20 billion at list prices, but airlines generally receive significant discounts for such big orders.
Ryanair stopped negotiations for a big Max order in September 2021 because of a dispute over pricing.
Ryanair’s CEO Michael O’Leary said the new planes will replace older 737 jets in its fleet. The 150 additional jets it has optioned would allow it to fly more than 300 million passengers a year by 2034, he said.
Boeing shares are up over 2% on the news…
…and that is dragging The Dow (futures) higher (though still in the red for now).
Finally, we note that this move by Ryanair marks an important endorsement from one of the US manufacturer’s most important customers (and historically most critical) and highlights how carriers are willing to splurge on fleet upgrades again as travel rebounds.
Tyler Durden
Tue, 05/09/2023 – 08:42
