Ryanair cuts summer 2020 forecasts due to delays in Boeing Max deliveries

Ryanair updated its projections for capacity growth in the winter of 2019 and the summer of 2020 following delays in deliveries of its new Boeing 737 Max jets.

The delays followed the decision by aviation authorities around the world to ground all Boeing 737 Max aircraft after two deadly crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia that resulted in the deaths of all passengers aboard.

Even as Boeing raced to fix the software issues in the model’s flight software and issue new training guidelines for pilots, airlines were being impacted by the delays and uncertainty around when they would be deemed airworthy again .

Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary said in a press release on Tuesday: "Ryanair remains committed to the B737 MAX aircraft, and now expects that it will return to flying service before the end of 2019, however the exact date of this return remains uncertain.

“Boeing is hoping that a certification package will be submitted to regulators by September with a return to service shortly thereafter. We believe it would be prudent to plan for that date to slip by some months, possibly as late as December.

“As Ryanair have ordered the Boeing MAX200s, which are a variant of the MAX aircraft, these need to be separately certified by the FAA and EASA. Ryanair expects that the MAX200 will be approved for flight services within 2 months of the MAX return to service.”

The airline expected to take the deliveries sometime between January and February of the following year.

O’Leary added: “Since Ryanair can only take delivery of between 6 to 8 new aircraft each month, we are now planning our summer 2020 schedules based on taking up to 30 B737 MAX aircraft deliveries up to end of May 2020.

“This is less than the 58 MAX aircraft Boeing originally scheduled to deliver for our summer 2020 schedule. This number could rise, or fall further, depending on when the B737 MAX actually returns to flight services.”

As a result, the company revised its summer schedule for next year and cut its growth forecast for summer 2020 from 7% to 3%. The reduction would also impact the 2019 winter schedule, the company said.

“Ryanair will continue to work with Boeing and EASA to recover these delivery delays during the winter of 2020, so that we can restore our growth to normal levels in summer 2021," concluded O’Leary.