Ryanair has ordered 300 new Boeing 737-MAX-10 aircraft (150 firm and 150 options) for delivery between 2027 to 2033. When finalised, and subject to all options being exercised, this deal is valued at over $40bn at current list prices and is the largest order ever placed by an Irish Company for US manufactured goods. Given the size and scale of the transaction, it will be subject to shareholder approval at Ryanair’s AGM on September 14.
Ryanair also signed a Letter of Agreement (LoA) for the purchase of LEAP-1B engines to power 150 737 MAX 10s. The LoA also includes spare engines and options for 150 additional aircraft.
The phased deliveries between 2027 and 2033 will enable Ryanair to phase out its older 737NGs, and continue to expand its fleet. With the additional 21% more seats than the NGs, Ryanair says that the new -10s will contribute to “significant revenue growth” since the extra seats (coupled with greater fuel and carbon efficiency) will “further widen Ryanair’s unitcost advantage over all EU competitor airlines”.
Ryanair expects to fund the new deliveries starting in 2027 with internal cashflows given its strong balance sheet and the two year gap between the delivery of the final B-8200 “Gamechanger” aircraft in 2025 and the new aircraft coming onstream. The airline adds however that it will “remain opportunistic in its fleet financing strategy”.
Ryanair Group CEO, Michael O’Leary, said: “These new, fuel efficient, greener technology aircraft offer 21% more seats, burn 20% less fuel and are 50% quieter than our B737-NGs. This order, coupled with our remaining Gamechanger deliveries, will create 10,000 new jobs for highly paid aviation professionals over the next decade, and these jobs will be located across all of Europe’s main economies where Ryanair is currently the No.1 or No.2 airline.”
Boeing president & CEO, Dave Calhoun, described the Boeing-Ryanair partnership as “one of the most productive in commercial aviation history”, adding that the two companies had signed their first aircraft order nearly a quarter century ago. “This landmark deal will further strengthen our partnership,” he said. “We are committed to delivering for Ryanair and helping Europe’s largest airline group achieve its goals by offering its customers the lowest fares in Europe.”