Ryanair may have to cancel flights next summer. According to CEO Michael O’Leary, his budget airline will deliver fewer planes from Boeing than promised. As a result, Ryanair’s summer schedule, precisely the busiest period of the year, is in jeopardy. As a result, ticket prices can increase by 5 to 10 percent. Ryanair was scheduled to receive 57 Boeing MAX 8200 aircraft, also known as Boeing 737 MAX 200, by the end of April. More than a week ago, Boeing told Ryanair that it would receive about 50 planes by the end of June, O’Leary said. That number is now uncertain as well. “We don’t really know how many planes we’re going to get from Boeing. We’re pretty sure we’ll get 30 to 40. We are reasonably convinced that we are between 40 and 45, but we are much less sure that we will get between 45 and 50 aircraft.’ The Dublin-based airline is the first in Europe to warn of disruption to its flight schedule due to a deepening crisis at Boeing. The aircraft manufacturer has to deal with tighter government scrutiny and is not allowed to increase production of the 737 MAX since the incident on January 5 this year, in which a new MAX 9 aircraft of Alaska Airlines lost a panel during a flight. Aviation industry sources say Boeing has informed its MAX customers that there may be delays in the delivery of aircraft. However, the U.S. aircraft manufacturer has not yet determined how many aircraft it would not be able to deliver this year, Reuters says. Boeing says it has informed some airlines that deliveries may be delayed. According to Boeing, delivery schedules are “dynamic,” as the planemaker wants to take the time to ensure that its planes are of high quality and meet all standards. “We deeply regret the impact this has had on our valued customer Ryanair,” said Boeing. The delays mean Ryanair may have to pull some flights from its summer schedule, O’Leary says. As a result, the budget flyer has less capacity for what is expected to be a record summer in terms of travel. “If we only get 40 aircraft, we will have to announce some minor changes to the schedule by the end of March,” says O’Leary. That means Ryanair is only expected to carry 200 million passengers for the financial year starting in April, compared to the 205 million previously forecast. Further capacity constraints could make Ryanair less competitive against low-cost competitors such as EasyJet. O’Leary reiterated that Boeing’s management needs to be replaced. “They make us optimistic promises and then break them. Then, a week or two later, it turns out that the reality is even worse.’ (Photo: Shutterstock).
