Ryanair restarts talks with Boeing over new aircraft order

Ryanair CE Michael O’Leary said he was optimistic about striking a major new aircraft order after the low-cost airline restarted talks with Boeing in the latest sign of the revival in aviation. O’Leary said there was a “deal to be done” with negotiations between the Irish airline and Boeing in “the early stages” for a new order of Boeing 737 jets, 18 months after discussions collapsed over a disagreement on prices. “We are back talking to them, which I think is an indication there is some movement on pricing . . . I think there is a deal to be done,” he said. He said the new multibillion-dollar order could be for the 737 Max 10, the largest aeroplane in the family of single-aisle aircraft, or for the smaller Max 8200. The potential boost for Boeing came as its CE Dave Calhoun told the FT he was optimistic the worst of the jet manufacturers’ delivery problems was “in the rear-view mirror”. The company, which declined to comment on the Ryanair talks, has experienced delays and setbacks in the delivery of its aircraft in the past two years because of production problems. Ryanair is one of Boeing’s biggest and most important airline customers, and O’Leary has regularly criticised the manufacturer over prices and its record in delivering aircraft. O’Leary has accepted that the new planes will be more expensive than the “ridiculously low price” he paid for his most recent order, signed in the depths of the coronavirus pandemic when the industry was virtually grounded. Ryanair ordered 75 Max 8200 in December 2020, which analysts said would have come at a “screaming” discount, taking its total orders for the single-aisle plane to 210. O’Leary has since regularly chided Boeing for delays in the deliveries of these aircraft, but said the company has recently made “real strides” in clearing its backlog. “The supply chain is sorting itself out,” he said.<br/>