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Ryanair CEO: Boeing troubles could speed up Max 8 deliveries

Steven Beardsley
January 11, 2024

Ryanair chief Michael O'Leary has repeated his support for Boeing's 737 Max jets. He told DW that a delay in Max 9 inspections could have an upside for his firm — faster delivery of other Boeing aircraft.

https://p.dw.com/p/4b7gf
An Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 plane sits at a gate at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
Alaska Airlines grounded its 737 Max 9 planes after part of a fuselage blew off during a flightImage: Stephen Brashear/Getty Images

US aircraft maker Boeing could deliver Ryanair more 737 Max 8 aircraft by June without giving any concrete numbers, the budget carrier's boss Michael O'Leary told DW in an interview.

Boeing declined to comment on O'Leary's assertion.

Ryanair will still receive fewer Max aircraft from Boeing than expected this year, O'Leary said. The airline was due to receive 57 Boeing Max 8s before summer, but O'Leary recently told the Financial Times he expected that number to fall by five or 10 aircraft due to recent delays.

O'Leary said Thursday that the number could now be improved, although he wasn't certain by how much.

"We couldn't go up, but maybe we could get 52, 53 or 54 instead of 57," he said.

Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary
O'Leary backed Boeing's Max jets, describing them as the 'safest in the world'Image: Leonhard Foeger/REUTERS

Boeing has paused inspections of Max 9 jets while it works with regulators following last week's incident involving a model of the aircraft operated by Alaska Airlines. A bolted panel blew off the fuselage mid-flight, forcing the crew to make an emergency landing.

No one was seriously injured in the incident, but regulators quickly moved to ground the aircraft for further inspection. The US Federal Aviation Administration has said Boeing has been asked to revise instructions for how airlines should inspect the planes, meaning a longer wait before Max 9s are allowed to fly again.

Renewed focus on Max program

The incident has cast new attention on the Max program. Regulators grounded Boeing's bestselling Max 8 aircraft between 2019 and 2020 after two separate crashes killed 346 people.

Those incidents were later connected to an automated control system, known as MCAS, which Boeing then updated.

The Alaska Airlines incident followed other recent quality issues with the fuselage, including problems with tail fin fittings flagged by Boeing and improperly drilled holes in a rear bulkhead. Both issues were linked to supplier Spirit AeroSystems, which manufactures the Max fuselage.

Airlines find loose parts in door panels of 737 MAX 9 planes

Ryanair operates exclusively Boeing aircraft, including the 737 NG and 737 Max. It has no Max 9s in its fleet yet.

O'Leary called the Max "the safest aircraft in the world," but said inspections have become an issue for Boeing.

"We occasionally find a [wrench] under a floorboard, things like that that shouldn't be happening," he said. "And it's a sign that Boeing needs to improve its quality control."

O'Leary was in Berlin to meet with government officials and press for lower airport fees and taxes, a frequent complaint from the discount carrier.

Edited by: Ashutosh Pandey