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RYANAIR ORDERS 75 BOEING MAX-8200 AIRCRAFT (210 IN
TOTAL)
DELIVERIES START EARLY IN 2021 AND RUN UNTIL DEC. 2024
VALUE OF 210 x 737 FIRM ORDER EXCEEDS $22 BILLION
Ryanair, Europe's largest airline, today (3 Dec. 2020) signed a
purchase agreement with Boeing for 75 new MAX-8200 aircraft, which
increases its firm order for the Boeing "Gamechanger" aircraft from 135 to 210, with a total value of
over $22bn. Now that the Boeing MAX aircraft has been certified by
the FAA to return to service, Ryanair expects to take the first
deliveries of these new fuel efficient and environmentally friendly
aircraft from early 2021, and has confirmed 210 firm orders with
Boeing for these gamechanger aircraft, which will be delivered over
a 4-year period between Spring 2021 and December
2024.
Ryanair, which (prior to the Covid-19 crisis) was on track to carry
over 150m passengers last year, will use these new aircraft to grow
its low fare services into new EU countries and markets, which will
incentivize Europe's consumers and its travel industry to recover
from the Covid-19 pandemic, as quickly as multiple vaccines are
rolled out in 2021, and life returns to normal. Ryanair and Boeing
have agreed revised delivery dates, and have also agreed
compensation for the direct costs incurred by Ryanair over the past
18 months due to these delivery delays, although some of this
compensation has been factored into a modest reduction in the
pricing of this new aircraft order which has encouraged Ryanair to
increase the firm order from 135 to 210 aircraft.
The Boeing 737 MAX-8200 aircraft is a "Gamechanger" for Ryanair's customers and Europe's consumers.
This aircraft, when delivered, will be the most audited, most
regulated in aviation history. The aircraft performance is
exceptional, as it delivers 8 more seats per flight, yet burns 16%
less fuel, and lowers noise emissions by 40%. This new 197 seat
Boeing aircraft is the perfect sized platform to allow Ryanair
expand and grow its low fare services across Europe over the next
decade. This new Boeing order helps Ryanair to lower its cost base
and return to growth across Europe in 2021, by delivering lower
fares to customers, as well as a lower CO2 and noise footprint,
making Ryanair Europe's greenest, cleanest airline, and helping
Ryanair reach its target of being carbon neutral by
2050.
Boeing's President & CEO Dave Calhoun said:
"Ryanair will continue to play a leading role in our industry when
Europe recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic and air traffic returns
to growth across the continent. We are gratified that Ryanair is
once again placing its confidence in the Boeing 737 family and
building their future fleet with this enlarged firm
order.
Boeing remains focused on safely returning the full 737 fleet to
service and on delivering the backlog of airplanes to Ryanair and
our other customers in the new year. We firmly believe in this
airplane and we will continue the work to re-earn the trust of all
of our customers."
Ryanair's Group CEO Michael O'Leary said:
"We are pleased and proud to place this enlarged order with Boeing,
who have successfully completed the return to service of the Boeing
MAX aircraft. The Boeing MAX is a fabulous aircraft with more
seats, more leg room, lower fares, lower fuel consumption, and it
sets incredible environmental standards, including 40% less noise
and lower CO2 emissions.
We hope to take delivery of at least 50 of these aircraft in 2021,
subject to Boeing recovering its manufacturing output to deliver
them. For as long as the Covid-19 pandemic depresses air travel, we
will use these new aircraft to replace some of our older Boeing NG
fleet, which will remain grounded until pre-Covid demand
returns. But as soon as the Covid-19 virus recedes - and it will in
2021 with the rollout of multiple effective vaccines - Ryanair and
our partner airports across Europe will - with these
environmentally efficient aircraft - rapidly restore flights and
schedules, recover lost traffic and help the nations of Europe
recover their tourism industry, and get young people back to work
across the cities, beaches, and ski resorts of the EU.
We sincerely thank our partners in Boeing, who have worked closely
with us over the last 18 months to reschedule aircraft deliveries,
to provide fair compensation to reflect those costs which Ryanair
has incurred through these delivery delays and to agree this new
enlarged aircraft order. We are working closely with Boeing and our
senior pilot professionals to assist our regulator EASA to certify
these aircraft in Europe, and to complete the training of our
pilots and crews across our 3 new Boeing MAX simulators in Dublin
and Stansted.
We are extremely grateful to our shareholders who have recently
supported a €1.25 billion fundraising, without which we could
not have placed this large but very timely aircraft order during a
once in a century downturn in the airline industry. We believe our
people will enjoy flying these exciting new aircraft, which will,
we hope, allow us to recruit/train many thousands of new pilots and
cabin crew over the next 5 years. The Board and people of Ryanair
are confident that our customers will love these new aircraft, they
will enjoy the new interiors, the more generous leg room, the lower
fuel consumption and the quieter noise performance, but most of
all, they will love the lower fares, which these aircraft will
enable Ryanair to offer not just in 2021, but for the next decade,
as Ryanair leads a strong recovery of Europe's aviation and tourism
industry out of the 2020 Covid-19 crisis."
ENDS
For further information
please
contact:
Alejandra Ruiz
Piaras
Kelly
Ryanair
Edelman
Ireland
Tel: +353-1-9451799
Tel: +353-1-592 1330
press@ryanair.com
ryanair@edelman.com
SIGNATURES
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf
by the undersigned, hereunto duly authorized.
