However, production delays at the Spirit Fuselage facility in Wichita, Kansas, combined with Boeing’s repair and delivery delays in Seattle, meant the budget airline now expects to receive only 14 aircraft between October and December.
“At this early date, we do not expect these delivery delays will materially affect our full-year traffic target of 183.5 million [passengers],” Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary said.
Asked if it could confirm the delays and when deliveries would be up to date, a spokesperson for Boeing said that the planemaker valued its partnership with Ryanair and was committed to supporting the airline.
Ryanair already trimmed its full-year passenger forecast from 185 million in July, citing potential Boeing delays, as well as the impact of air traffic control strikes.
Ryanair executives had said deliveries had “significantly improved” before Boeing discovered a production flaw last month that has slowed deliveries of its best-selling 737 MAX aircraft.
Persons:
Michael O’Leary, O’Leary
Organizations:
Ryanair, Boeing, East, Porto
Locations:
Wichita , Kansas, Seattle, Charleroi, Belgium, Dublin, Ireland, Bergamo, Naples, Pisa, East Midlands, Portugal, Cologne, Germany