Boeing delivery delays force Ryanair to cut service over summer
March 1 (UPI) -- Ryanair will cut service frequency on some routes because of a delivery delay of new Boeing aircraft, the Irish ultra low-cost airline confirmed Friday.
The Dublin-based airline confirmed it will receive only 40 of an expected 57 new Boeing 737 MAX8 jets, all of which were scheduled to be delivered before the end of June 2024.
Ryanair will now be forced to reduce service on approximately 10 routes during the peak summer season months of July, August and September.
Passengers will feel the reduced frequencies on existing routes rather than the company cutting back service on new routes.
The airline said it also expects to see fares rise slightly across Europe over the summer.
"We are very disappointed at these latest Boeing delivery delays, but we continue to work with Boeing to maximize the number of new B737 aircraft we receive by the end of June, which we can confidently release for sale to customers during the S24 peak. We will now work with Boeing to take delayed aircraft deliveries during August and September 2024 to help Boeing reduce their delivery backlog," Ryanair Group CEO Michael O'Leary said in the company's statement.
"We regret any inconvenience caused to some customers and our airport partners by these enforced S24 schedule changes, which will reduce our full year traffic growth from 184 million in FY24 to between 198 million to 200 million in FY25. We are working with our airport partners to deliver some growth to them, albeit later in September and October (rather than July and August). This traffic growth can only be delivered at lower fares during these shoulder months."
On Feb. 5, Boeing announced a delivery delay of around 50 of its 737 MAX planes after being alerted to a safety issue by one of its suppliers.
That news came after an employee working for a Boeing supplier found two holes drilled in some 737 MAX fuselages that "may not have been drilled exactly to our requirements," Stan Deal, Boeing's commercial airplanes president and CEO, said in a note at the time.
The news from Ryanair comes days after the Federal Aviation Administration instructed the aircraft manufacturer to develop a comprehensive plan to deal with systemic quality-control issues to meet non-negotiable FAA safety standards.
FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker told Boeing executives they must provide the agency with a comprehensive safety action plan within 90 days.
That plan must incorporate results from an FAA production-line audit.
Whitaker earlier in the month visited Boeing's factory in Renton, Wash., to get a first-hand look at the 737 production line and speak with engineers, mechanics and others from the company about its quality control process.
