Ryanair Faces 737 MAX Shortages

Ryanair continues to express that delays in acquiring new Boeing 737 MAX jets will result in significant shortages this summer. As a result, this will negatively impact the schedule it offers customers.

However, one of the more pressing updates for Ryanair is that their initial expectations of acquiring new aircraft have been dramatically reduced.

The major low-cost European carrier initially said it expected a total of 57 MAX jets, now that’ll drop to only 40, meaning fewer seats will be available.

The airline forecasts explicitly a 10% increase in flight prices as well; this is a potential ramifications that would come directly due to the shortage of aircraft. Additionally, the carrier cites the imbalance in the demand and supply it can offer.

Ryanair says fresh delays have been encountered following the most recent door blowout incident on an Alaska Airlines jet and subsequent investigation into Boeing’s core production and culture.

Ultimately, while demand is expected to surge, the airline believes growth will be forced to slow as it targets a 200 million passenger transportation goal, down from the previously quoted 205 million.

A Worldwide Problem

Delays with new aircraft aren’t abnormal; throughout the industry, many other leading airlines have also forecasted recent delivery delays. As a result, these delays impact the schedule they can offer customers.

Qantas most recently announced it’d be delaying the entry into service of its A321XLR and A350-1000, negatively affecting the schedule it can offer passengers and specific route launches.

However, Qantas wouldn’t be the only airline experiencing a similar fate. The 777X with Boeing has also seen customers encounter substantial delays, while there are delays to the 787 Dreamliner.

Airlines worldwide are being forced to cope with these delays by looking towards the leasing market in some instances, retaining older aircraft or cutting capacity.

Ryanair Still Likes The MAX

Despite publicly voicing its frustrations over delays in deliveries for the MAX jet, the airline has remained firm that it’s still happy with the series.

Additionally, the CEO said that if any U.S. airlines cancelled orders for the 737-10 and the company could acquire them at the right price, it would pounce on the opportunity.

Around the world, the MAX is regarded as a fantastic plane when it’s flying safely without any problems. However, achieving the latter stages of that statement has been increasingly more difficult across the last five years and thus impacted airlines in more wrong ways than right.