O'Leary confirmed that negotiations with Boeing for a new order of 737 jets are in the early stages.
"We are back talking to them, which I think is an indication there is some movement on pricing, and I think there is a deal to be done, "O'Leary said.
Boeing's recent announcement of a potential boost was met with optimism, as the company's Chief Executive Officer, Dave Calhoun, has recently stated that he believes the worst of the manufacturer's delivery problems are now behind them. In the past two years, the company has faced significant delays and setbacks in aircraft delivery due to production issues.
Calhoun's positive outlook suggests that Boeing may be on the path to resolving these issues and improving its delivery performance moving forward.
Ryanair is among the top customers of the American aircraft manufacturer and holds great importance for the company. However, Ryanair's Boss has been vocal in his criticisms of Boeing over issues such as pricing and delivery delays. O'Leary admits that the upcoming order of new planes will likely come at a higher cost than the previous order, which was secured at a "ridiculously low price" during the pandemic-induced industry downturn.
Airline's previous order of 75 MAX 8-200 aircraft in December 2020 brought the total number of single-aisle planes ordered by the airline to 210. However, since then, Ryanair's CEO has expressed frustration over delivery delays and criticized Boeing on multiple occasions. Despite this, O'Leary has also acknowledged that the planemaker has made significant progress in addressing its backlog of orders and is making "real strides" in improving its delivery performance.
Recently, Boeing and its European competitor, Airbus, have faced challenges in delivering planes and meeting the rising demand from airlines. However, Boeing has made progress in addressing these challenges by securing orders for nearly 200 of its wide-body aircraft, including 78 787s, in the past four months. These orders were split between Saudi Arabian Airlines and the new national airline Riyadh Air.
Following the announcement of the Saudi Arabian Airlines order, Boeing's CEO, Dave Calhoun, expressed confidence that the company's production issues and parts shortages, which have previously caused delays in deliveries of their most popular planes, were starting to improve.
Calhoun has reiterated the company's production and delivery guidance for the full year, which was initially announced in November. The timely delivery of 787 Dreamliners is a critical component of Boeing's strategy to increase cash flow and revenues. However, like many other companies in the aerospace industry, Boeing has been impacted by labor and supply chain shortages since the resumption of air travel following the lifting of Covid-19-induced lockdowns.
Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, Boeing and Airbus had been urging their suppliers to meet ambitious production targets in response to the high demand for new aircraft. However, the grounding of Boeing's 737 MAX following two fatal crashes in 2019, along with the pandemic-induced drop in demand, caused a significant slowdown in production rates. As a result, suppliers were hesitant to invest in hiring new employees or purchasing additional machinery, which has resulted in bottlenecks for aircraft components.
