Ryanair delays Boeing 737 MAX 200 “Gamechanger” delivery until Winter

Ryanair has delayed the delivery of their first five Boeing 737 MAX 200 aircraft to Winter 2019, the Irish low-cost airline wrote in its latest financial report. Normally, the first “Gamechanger” aircraft was expected to be delivered in the first half of this year but the airline has now decided to postpone.

“We have delayed the delivery of our first 5 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft to Winter 2019 (subject to regulatory approval by EASA),” the airline said. “We continue to have utmost confidence in these aircraft which have 4% more seats, are 16% more fuel efficient and generate 40% lower noise emissions. They are hedged at an average €/$ rate of 1.24 out to FY24, and will deliver significant unit cost savings for the next 5 years, although the delayed deliveries in 2019 means that we will not see any meaningful cost benefit until FY21.”

In April 2018, the Irish low-cost airline brought its total firm orders of this high density version of the 737 MAX 8 aircraft to 135. To safely transport all 197 passengers in a single-class high-density configuration with slimline seats, Boeing introduced an extra pair of exit doors (between the four overwing exits and the rear doors).