Ryanair Passengers Rejoice: Boeing Delivery Delays Spur Unexpected Travel Adventures
Ryanair faces more flight disruptions as Boeing delivery delays persist Winter schedule cuts announced due to delayed aircraft, but full-year traffic forecast remains unaffected for now Europe's largest airline by passengers
Ryanair has revealed adjustments to its winter schedule due to the delayed arrival of Boeing aircraft. However, the largest airline in Europe in terms of passenger count stated that its full-year traffic projection remains unaffected at this point. In a statement released on Thursday, Ryanair (RYAAY) mentioned that it had originally anticipated receiving 27 aircraft between September and December.
A Boeing 737 Ryanair plane taking off at the Leonardo da Vinci airport in Fiumicino, Italy on October 11th, 2021.
Massimo Insabato/Archivio Massimo Insabato/Mondadori Portfolio/Getty Images
Boeing needs to get its 's*** together,' Ryanair CEO says
However, Ryanair anticipates receiving only 14 aircraft in the next three months as a result of both production and delivery delays at the Spirit Fuselage facility in Wichita, Kansas, and Boeing's repair and delivery delays in Seattle.
The airline stated that flight cancellations will commence from the end of October and will be communicated to affected passengers via email in the upcoming days.
Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary expressed confidence that the current delivery delays will not significantly impact their full-year traffic goal of 183.5 million passengers. However, in the event that these delays worsen or continue into the January-to-March 2024 timeframe, there may be a need to reassess and potentially make a slight downward adjustment to the target.
The budget airline announced that it would be implementing cuts that would impact various airports including Charleroi in Belgium, Dublin in Ireland, and Italian airports such as Bergamo, Naples, and Pisa. Additionally, reductions would be made at East Midlands airport in the UK, Porto in Portugal, and Cologne in Germany. Ryanair had originally anticipated receiving 57 Boeing aircraft from September 2023 to May 2024.
In its statement, the airline mentioned that it is collaborating with Boeing in order to expedite deliveries between January and May 2024. The aim is to ensure that all 57 new Boeing aircraft are received as planned, allowing Ryanair to commence the summer 2024 peak travel season as scheduled.
