Ryanair placed an order for up to 300 of Boeing's largest 737 Max aircraft as the European low-cost carrier accelerates its pandemic recovery amid the travel boom.
The purchase agreement includes a firm order for 150 737 Max 10 jets and options for another 150 – a list value of $40 billion – Ryanair and Boeing announced Tuesday. However, due to the size and scale of the transaction, the deal will be subject to shareholder approval in September, Ryanair said.
The planes, which are still waiting to be certified, are expected to be delivered between 2027 and 2033, according to the announcement.
FAA certification is required before the jets can enter service with the airlines that acquire them, and Boeing initially thought the Max 10 models would complete certification by the end of December 2022 as required by a 2020 law that would have entailed an extensive upgrade to the 737 Max’s crew alerting system.
Boeing, based in Arlington, Virginia, expects the planes to be certified by late 2023 or early 2024, according to reports.
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Ryanair is one Boeing's biggest customers and the airline sees the hefty investment in its fleet helping it gain a competitive edge over rivals as travel continues to rebound.
Ryanair Group CEO Micheal O'Leary said the Max 10 jets "offer 21% more seats, burn 20% less fuel and are 50% quieter" than its other Boeing planes.
While the planes will offer greater fuel and carbon efficiency, they will further widen the carrier's unit-cost advantage over competitor airlines, according to Ryanair.
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"The extra seats, lower fuel burn and more competitive aircraft pricing supported by our strong balance sheet, will widen the cost gap between Ryanair and competitor EU airlines for many years to come, making the Boeing MAX 10 the ideal growth aircraft order for Ryanair, our passengers, our people and our shareholders," O'Leary said.
The order will also create 10,000 new jobs for highly paid aviation professionals over the next decade, O'Leary said.
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Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun said this "landmark deal" will further strengthen its partnership with Ryanair, which he says already offers its customers the lowest fares in Europe.
"The Boeing-Ryanair partnership is one of the most productive in commercial aviation history, enabling both companies to succeed and expand affordable travel to hundreds of millions of people," Calhoun said.
The announcement Tuesday amounts to a vote of confidence from one of Boeing’s best customers – and one that has bluntly expressed its displeasure with the aircraft maker in the past.
Last year, O’Leary went on an expletive-laced rant to complain about Boeing’s slow pace of aircraft deliveries and an inability to settle terms for an aircraft order. He said on a call with analysts in May 2022 that Boeing management "is running around like headless chickens."
FOX Business' Eric Revell and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
