Ryanair blames Boeing delay as it cuts passenger forecast

Ryanair has been forced to cut its forecast for passenger numbers for a second time, as delivery delays from Boeing continue to dent its growth ambitions. Europe’s largest low-cost airline on Monday said it expected to carry 206mn passengers in its next fiscal year, which begins in April, down from a previous estimate of 210mn. The airline had already revised down the target because of problems at Boeing, lowering its forecast from 215mn to 210mn passengers in November. “While Boeing 737 production is recovering from Boeing’s strike in late 2024, we no longer expect Boeing to deliver sufficient aircraft ahead of summer 2025,” said Ryanair CE Michael O’Leary. Ryanair is Boeing’s largest customer in Europe and has seen its growth plans dented by the crisis at the US manufacturer. Over the past year, Boeing has suffered from a damaging strike and has had to slow production lines to improve manufacturing processes following a mid-air door panel blowout on a jet last January. Still, Ryanair’s CFO Neil Sorahan said he believed “things are improving operationally” at Boeing’s factories, following a trip to the US this month. “Hopefully they are turning the corner,” he said. Boeing is 38 planes behind its original delivery agreement with Ryanair for its 737 Max 8, and the airline still needs another nine planes before the summer season to be able to hit its scaled-back growth plans. Sorahan said he was confident in those deliveries and that Boeing would be able to catch up with the delivery schedule next winter.<br/>