Ryanair orders 75 more Boeing 737 MAX 8-200 jets

Boeing and Ryanair announced today that Europe’s largest airline is placing a firm order for 75 additional 737 MAX aeroplanes, increasing its order book to 210 jets. Ryanair again selected the 737 8-200, a higher-capacity version of the 737-8, citing the aeroplane’s additional seats and improved fuel efficiency and environmental performance.

“Ryanair’s board and people are confident that our customers will love these new aircraft. Passengers will enjoy the new interiors, more generous legroom, lower fuel consumption and quieter noise performance. And, most of all, our customers will love the lower fares, which these aircraft will enable Ryanair to offer starting in 2021 and for the next decade, as Ryanair leads the recovery of Europe’s aviation and tourism industries,” said Ryanair Group CEO Michael O’Leary.

O’Leary and Ryanair leaders joined the Boeing team for a signing ceremony in Washington, D.C. Both companies acknowledged COVID-19’s impacts on air traffic in the near-term but expressed confidence in the resilience and strength of the passenger demand over the long term.

“As soon as the COVID-19 virus recedes – and it likely will in 2021 with the rollout of multiple effective vaccines – Ryanair and our partner airports across Europe will – with these environmentally efficient aircraft – rapidly restore flights and schedules, recover lost traffic and help the nations of Europe recover their tourism industries, and get young people back to work across the cities, beaches and ski resorts of the European Union,” O’Leary said.

Ryanair is the launch customer for the high-capacity 737-8 variant, having placed its first order for 100 aeroplanes and 100 options in late 2014, followed by firm orders of 10 aeroplanes in 2017 and 25 in 2018. The 737 8-200 will enable Ryanair to configure its aircraft with 197 seats, increasing revenue potential, and reduce fuel consumption by 16 percent compared to the airline’s previous aeroplanes.

“Ryanair will continue to play a leading role in our industry when Europe recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic and air traffic returns to growth across the continent. We are gratified that Ryanair is once again placing its confidence in the Boeing 737 family and building their future fleet with this enlarged firm order,” said Dave Calhoun, president and CEO of The Boeing Company.

“Boeing remains focused on safely returning the full 737 fleet to service and on delivering the backlog of aeroplanes to Ryanair and our other customers. We firmly believe in this aeroplane, and we will continue the work to re-earn the trust of all of our customers,” Calhoun said.

Dec 03, 2020, 10:00 ET

Neither Boeing nor Ryanair wanted to reveal the negotiated price for these 75 Boeing 737 MAXs, which will be added to the 135 units already ordered by Ryanair. That is 210 MAX in total over a period of five years, the first of which will be delivered next year, two years behind the initial schedule. The only indication of the value of the “deal” remains the list price of a 737 MAX, around 125 million dollars. But it is likely that Ryanair will not even spend half of that amount. Because, as Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary announced earlier this month, this new order is part of a global agreement with Boeing on compensation for delivery delays.