Ryanair to trim flights in July, August but passenger target on track

Ryanair will likely trim some flights in August due to delivery delays from Boeing but there will be no material impact on customers, senior executive Eddie Wilson said in an interview on Tuesday. Group CE Michael O'Leary last week said he would trim some high-frequency routes in July and Wilson said the same would happen in August but that Ryanair would "absolutely" hit its annual target of 185 million passengers. Wilson said he was hopeful the number of planes affected by manufacturing issues would be in the single digits out of a fleet of over 550, but that Boeing had not yet provided a detailed delivery schedule. "We'll be able to absorb this in terms of frequency reduction," said Wilson, CE of Ryanair DAC, the largest airline in the Ryanair Group. "It won't be material, it won't affect people, because all the bookings aren't in for August," he added. O'Leary described the delays by Boeing as "very disappointing", but Wilson said talks with the US firm about a possible large new order would not be impacted. Wilson was speaking in Berlin where he announced 520 weekly flights in its summer schedule, but said Ryanair was focusing growth elsewhere due to high airport charges.<br/>