Ryanair’s O’Leary ups pressure on Boeing with meeting in Dublin

Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary met senior Boeing executives in Dublin on Wednesday to discuss prolonged delays in plane deliveries as a crisis at the US plane maker deepens.

Speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of an aviation conference in advance of the meeting, he said he would also discuss the certification of Boeing’s 737 MAX 10 aircraft and ongoing issues with oversight following the January 5th mid-air loss of a panel on a new Alaska Airlines MAX 9.

The meeting will be with the “highest levels of management” at Boeing, he said, without identifying who.

“We are working closely with Boeing...Boeing are still producing great aircraft, but there’s no doubt in our mind that on the shop floor, the systems and the quality control in Seattle need to be improved,” he said, referring to Boeing’s main manufacturing hub in Washington.

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He said Ryanair, Boeing’s largest European customer, has regular meetings with its plane supplier, and believes things will start to improve as regulators ramp up scrutiny of the company. “They’re being... heavily regulated at the moment by the Congress, the FAA are crawling all over them. That doesn’t help monthly production. But frankly it’s that kind of oversight it needs.”

Ryanair’s press office later confirmed the “routine meeting” with Boeing at its Dublin headquarters had taken place but said it did not have any further comment about the discussions.

Last month Mr O’Leary warned the carrier may have to cut its summer schedule, the busiest time of the year, due to delays in receiving new aircraft. As of late February the airline said it only expected to receive 40 Boeing Max jets before the end of June, rather than the 57 originally anticipated, forcing the airline to reduce flight frequencies across its network. Mr O’Leary has said this could affect flights to Britain from Dublin this year, with the airline potentially forced to reduce daily frequencies to London as well as Manchester and Glasgow.

Boeing declined to comment on Wednesday’s meeting. It said it would burn more cash in the first quarter than previously expected as it constrains 737 production to improve quality. – Reuters/Additional reporting: Laura Slattery

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