Ryanair to order additional Boeing 737 MAXs, sources say

PARIS (Reuters) – Ryanair is about to order a few dozen additional 737 MAXs from Boeing, which would come at the right time for this aircraft whose flight ban has just been lifted after more than 20 months during which it is remained grounded, industry sources said.

Europe’s leading low-cost company, which has a 75-aircraft option to increase its current order to 210 units, declined to comment on the information.

Boeing could not be reached immediately for comment.

Ryanair has been negotiating for several months to order 135 more planes as part of discussions with Boeing over compensation for delivery delays caused by the flight ban. However, no decision was expected before the 737 MAX resumed flights.

Last month, the US and European aviation safety authorities gave the green light to the resumption of flights, with Boeing having meanwhile corrected the 737 MAX’s MCAS stall prevention system and adapted pilot training.

Ryanair is one of Boeing’s first customers, and any new order from the Irish company will help revive the reputation of Boeing and the 737 MAX, its best-selling model before the flight ban taken in March 2019 following two air disasters in Indonesia and Ethiopia, which claimed the lives of 346 people.

The value of each MAX is estimated to be around $ 125 million (€ 103.52 million) based on the list price, but the actual price is usually less than half and it should even be much lower for a customer too. strategic than Ryanair, these sources said.

The Boeing title rose by nearly 3% in the early morning on Wall Street.

(1 euro = $1,2075)

(Tim Hepher and Conor Humphries, French version Flora Gomez, edited by Jean-Michel Bélot)