Ryanair to take 16 Max jets by summer with 737-8200 certification days away

Ryanair expects to receive its first Boeing 737-8200 Max jets in April and to operate 16 of the type during the peak summer season, based on certification of the high-density variant being secured in the coming days. “We’re hoping that… the 8200 will be certified by the FAA some time later this week and then by EASA later this week or early next week,” Ryanair’s group CE Michael O’Leary said on 24 March, referring to the variant being procured by the airline, which features increased accommodation of 197 seats and an extra pair of exit doors. If certification is secured in the coming days, “we would expect to take probably our first Max delivery… in April”, O’Leary says, with Ryanair as launch customer for the variant. He notes that the carrier “had hoped to take our first Max delivery in late March” this year, having originally expected to receive its first of the type in April 2019 before the pandemic devastated the global air travel market. In total, O’Leary expects the carrier to receive eight 737-8200s in April and the same number in May, with no further deliveries planned during the summer peak season.<br/>