Hours after Boeing completed its first 737 Max flight with members of the public, Ryanair announced it will purchase 75 new Max aircraft in a deal worth $22 billion.
“Ryanair’s board and people are confident that our customers will love these new aircraft,” CEO Michael O’Leary said in a statement. “Passengers will enjoy the new interiors, more generous leg room, lower fuel consumption and quieter noise performance. And, most of all, our customers will love the lower fares, which these aircraft will enable Ryanair to offer starting in 2021 and for the next decade, as Ryanair leads the recovery of Europe’s aviation and tourism industries.”
We’re pleased and proud to announce a purchase agreement with @Boeing for 75 new MAX-8200 aircraft ?
For the full details, see here ?https://t.co/P5ho2Mkd8n
— Ryanair Press Office (@RyanairPress) December 3, 2020
On Wednesday, Boeing completed its first Max 8 flight since the Federal Aviation Administration grounded the planes in March 2019. The planes were grounded after two deadly crashes involving the aircraft killed 376 people. The cause of the crashes was determined to be a technical glitch involving a safety feature put on the planes to prevent them from climbing too rapidly and then stalling. The glitch caused planes to nosedive.
American Airlines flew journalists on a flight from Dallas, Texas, to Tulsa, Oklahoma, ABC News reported. American Airlines is the only airline in the United States that has stated a plan to resume scheduling flights on the Max 8. The first paid flight is scheduled for Dec. 29 from Miami to New York City.
The FAA cleared the Max 8 to return to the skies in November, after Boeing said it was in the process of installing new software on all Max 8 planes and was conducting new pilot training courses. Boeing expected it would take weeks or months from the mid-November announcement to complete the updates and training.
The Max 8 is not currently cleared for flight in Europe.
Ryanair’s “firm order” for 75 new airplanes is the first order Boeing received since the crashes, and the largest order since a Vietnamese airline bought 200 jets in 2016. According to Boeing’s delivery history, orders for the jets peaked in 2014, when the company received requests for roughly 1,200 jets.
“We are gratified that Ryanair is once again placing its confidence in the Boeing 737 family and building their future fleet with this enlarged firm order,” said Dave Calhoun, president and CEO of The Boeing Company. “Boeing remains focused on safely returning the full 737 fleet to service and on delivering the backlog of airplanes to Ryanair and our other customers. We firmly believe in this airplane, and we will continue the work to re-earn the trust of all of our customers.”
Ryanair said that it will receive the planes early next year.
