Ryanair Looks at Schedule Cuts Due to Cut Boeing 737 MAX Production

Joe Cortez February 26, 2024

With Ryanair expected to get fewer Boeing 737 MAX airframes than previously anticipated, the ultra-low-cost carrier will likely reduce their schedule during the busy summer holiday months.

The cap on Boeing 737 MAX production could have a new effect on the travel space: Forcing ultra-low-cost airline Ryanair to cut back their schedule.

Reuters reports airline leadership is looking at the cuts after the aerospace giant could not commit to previously scheduled deliveries for the airline.

Ryanair Could Experience “Minor Cuts,” Reducing Expected Passenger Load by 5 Million

After a Boeing 737 MAX operated by Alaska Airlines experienced a door plug blowout, the Federal Aviation Administration increased scrutiny over production. As a result, Ryanair says the company informed them they would not receive the 57 Boeing MAX 8 airframes due in the summer of 2024.

“We don’t really know how many aircraft we’re going to get from Boeing,” Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary told Reuters at a briefing. “We’re pretty sure we’re going to get 30 to 40. We’re reasonably confident we’re between 40 and 45. And now we are far less confident we’re going to get between 45 and 50.”

As a result, the airline says they could be forced to reduce their schedule during the summer holiday months. Although the airline did not say how many flights would be affected, it does mean their total passenger load could be down by five million when the annual report comes up in April 2024.

In the meantime, O’Leary is not holding back his scorn at Boeing.

“There’s a shitshow going on in Seattle,” said O’Leary, as quoted by Reuters. “They keep giving us optimistic, broken promises. And then a week or two weeks later… it turns out that reality is worse.”

There could be some good news for Ryanair ahead in the form of canceled orders by other airlines. Bloomberg reports United Airlines is in advanced talks to take on Airbus A321neo aircraft to replace delayed orders of the Boeing 737 MAX-10. In the event United cuts their orders, O’Leary said he would take those orders “as long as they get the right price.”