The Irish company Ryanair, leader in the “low cost” flight sector in Europe, has ordered up to 300 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, in what is the largest order in its history, according to the announcement made today simultaneously by both companies.
Of the total order, 150 aircraft are a firm order and the other half with a preferential purchase option.
With this order, Ryanair intends to respond to what it considers a "clear recovery of the air market in a post-pandemic context and thus respond to the strong demand for travel.” The airline operates 505 aircraft, all from Boeing. Ryanair's goal is to reach 200 million passengers per year in the short term.
The 737-10s ordered from Boeing are 228-seat aircraft that are presented as the most economical unit in the single-aisle model, and will mean multiplying the number of seats offered compared to Ryanair's current model, the 737-8-200, with 197 seats.
Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary also used more fashionable arguments in that statement, such as energy sustainability: “These new aircraft, with greener technology and energy efficiency, have 21% more seats but burn 20% less kerosene, and are also 50% quieter than our 737-NGs,” he said.
And he did not forget other social arguments: “This order, together with the pending deliveries of Gamechanger, will create 10,000 new jobs for highly qualified aviation professionals in the next decade.”
According to Ryanair's figures, its planes carried a total of 97 million passengers in the twelve months ending March 31, still far from the 149 million it carried before the pandemic, but with "a promising horizon" ahead.
