Ryanair Holdings remains confident that it will receive its first B737-10 on schedule in the first half of 2027, even as delays in B737-8-200 deliveries have forced it to trim capacity for this year.
"We understand that the B737-7 should hopefully be certified, if not at the back of calendar 2024 then into early 2025. That will then mean the -10 could be certified somewhere, hopefully, in the first half of calendar 2025. I think the launch customers in the US will then fly both aircraft next year, which would put us well on track to receive our first -10 in the first half, spring of 2027," Chief Financial Officer Neil Sorahan said during an earnings call.
The Irish holding has a firm order for 150 of the MAX 10s (with another 150 options), making it the world's second-largest customer for the type after United Airlines with 165. However, while the American carrier has repeatedly cast doubt over its order due to the variant's much-delayed certification, Ryanair has consistently maintained its plan and even said it would be happy to take over any Boeing delivery slots relinquished by other operators.
However, the airline is struggling to meet its capacity growth plans due to production delays with the -8-200 variant. Ryanair currently operates 150 of these aircraft across its various AOCs (Ryanair, Buzz (Poland), and Malta Air) with 60 more on order. The LCC revealed that it hopes to increase the number of -8-200s to 158 by the end of July, which would be 23 short of the contracted deliveries. It estimates reaching 181 of the type by the end of November, and its final 29 deliveries, planned for January-April 2025, are "currently on track".
To cope with the delays, the airline has extended operating leases for three A320-200s in Lauda Europe's fleet by four years, that were previously set to expire during the winter of 2024/25, to 2028. This Maltese subsidiary, Ryanair's only Airbus airline, currently operates twenty-seven A320-200s, according to the ch-aviation fleets module.
Despite the B737-8-200 delays, Ryanair currently expects its annual passenger throughput to grow by 8% to 198-200 million in the April 2024-March 2025 fiscal year.
Chief executive Michael O'Leary said Ryanair expects "modest" compensation from Boeing, which would not reflect the scale of the losses from the delivery delays. The exact terms are "subject to confidentiality".
Having posted a EUR1.92 billion euro (USD2.1 billion) net profit for the 2024 fiscal year, Ryanair announced plans to launch a EUR700 million (USD760 million) share buyback programme. The airline is also gradually increasing its EU ownership, which currently stands at 48%. Once it clears the 50% threshold, it will restore voting rights to all shareholders, including non-EU shareholders, as it will no longer violate EU ownership and control rules.
