Boeing problems could cause Ryanair headache

Ryanair is presumably having some intense conversations with Boeing after the manufacturer this week revealed further problems with its 737 Max aircraft. This time supplier Spirit Aerosystems has told the US company that on some aircraft a “non-standard” manufacturing process was used on two fittings in the aft fuselage, where the upright tail fin sits.

Boeing and the US regulator, the Federal Aviation Authority, have confirmed that this is not a safety-of-flight issue so it does not affect aircraft already in service. However, a Boeing spokesman says the problem “will likely affect a significant number of undelivered 737 Max airplanes, both in production and in storage”.

Ryanair – one of Boeing’s biggest customers – is awaiting 24 Max aircraft through April, May and June from 51 that it was due to receive this year. (It has ordered 210 in total, around 60 arrived in 2022). The airline says it is “assessing with Boeing” how the latest problem will impact those deliveries.

In February Ryanair indicated that around 45 of the new jets it is due in 2023 would allow it to reach the target of 185 million passengers that the carrier set for its current financial year, which ends on March 31st.

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On the face of it a significant delay with 24 aircraft potentially raises a problem with that. Boeing has not said how long any hold-up is likely to be, just that it expects “lower near-term 737 Max deliveries” while it resolves the problem and that it involves a large number of aircraft.

Ryanair has 540 737s in all, and its fleet is young by most airlines’ standards, so it may yet have the resources to cope with the latest round of delays. Either way, it’s a headache no airline needs just as peak summer travel is about to take off.