Michael O’Leary, CEO of Ryanair Group (RYAAY), said on Tuesday that Boeing’s (BA) new management “continues to disappoint” and deliveries are behind schedule.
The Irish airline, one of Boeing’s biggest customers, said there was a risk that it would only receive 20 to 25 737 MAX aircraft by next summer instead of the planned 29.
“Things continue to slide slightly, it’s disappointing,” O’Leary said in an interview with Reuters.
“We are working closely with Stephanie Pope and the new team at Boeing, but they continue to disappoint us,” he said, referring to the head of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, who was appointed in March.
Boeing named aerospace industry veteran Kelly Ortberg as chief executive officer last month.
Boeing has pledged to increase production by the end of the year after struggling with supply chain problems and operating a slower assembly line since Jan. 5, when a door stopper on a 737 MAX 9 burst in flight, prompting increased regulatory scrutiny.
O’Leary said Ryanair received five aircraft in July instead of the seven planned, and it looks like only five of the 10 aircraft planned for August will be delivered.
“Boeing has had significant production problems. We believe they are nearing the end of that,” he said.
Ryanair said in July that Boeing had warned the company that some 737 MAX deliveries due next spring would be delayed until the peak summer months of 2025 – a repeat of delays this year that had led to a reduction in summer traffic.
Ryanair, Europe’s largest airline by passenger numbers, already has 150 firm orders for the MAX 10, the largest jet in the 737 family, and options for 150 more, with first deliveries scheduled for 2027.
O’Leary said the smaller MAX 7 should be certified by the end of this year, but it looks like that date will be delayed until the first half of 2025.
He said it was “impossible to know” whether the MAX 10 would be certified on time in the first half of 2025. “At Boeing, it’s a daily challenge.”
(Reporting by Kate Abnett and Bart Biesmans, writing by Conor Humphries and Kylie MacLellan, editing by David Evans)
