Boeing Gets Broadside From One of Its Biggest Customers

Boeing and rival

Airbus SE

are often taken to task publicly by their airline customers for delivery delays and quality issues. And Mr. O’Leary, the longtime CEO of the Dublin-based budget carrier, has a reputation for being outspoken in his criticism of both suppliers and regulators.

Still, his broadside against Boeing was unusual in its breadth and expletive-laced ferocity.

“We’re a willing customer, but we’re struggling with slow deliveries and an inability to do a deal on new aircraft,” Mr. O’Leary said, adding: “You wonder what the hell their sales team have done for the last two years.”

Mr. O’Leary has built Ryanair into Europe’s biggest airline by passenger numbers over almost three decades at the company’s helm. He bet big on Boeing early in his tenure, and he has been relying on the 737 MAX to propel the discount giant’s growth as it looks to take market share from incumbent rivals still reeling from Covid-19.

Ryanair said on Monday that it flew 97.1 million customers last year as it continued to recover from the pandemic. It plans to fly 165 million passengers in the current fiscal year, ahead of the 148.6 million passengers it flew in the year leading up to the pandemic.

Mr. O’Leary said its expansion plans have been impacted by Boeing’s failure to deliver aircraft on time. Some aircraft that were due in April, ahead of the start of the peak summer travel season, are now only set to arrive in June, he said. Ryanair cut back its capacity plans by about 600,000 to 800,000 seats in May and June in response to the delays, Mr. O’Leary said.

Mr. O’Leary said some planes that had already been built during the nearly two-year grounding of the 737 MAX were still parked, waiting to be delivered to customers. Mr. O’Leary said he recognizes the challenges Boeing currently faces in producing new planes, but added that he doesn’t understand why it can’t deliver aircraft it has already built and that Boeing hasn’t offered any explanation for such delays.

Mr. O’Leary said he has expressed willingness to restart talks for a new order of Boeing’s MAX 10, the biggest variant of the 737 family. Ryanair broke off talks over a large purchase in September, citing price. The plane has yet to be certified, and Mr. O’Leary said there has been no progress on any follow-on deal. Boeing at the time said it was being disciplined in its negotiations and would take decisions that made sense for both the company and its customers.

Ryanair is now looking to buy or lease 50 secondhand aircraft, Mr. O’Leary said, including considering bringing more Airbus aircraft into its fleet to facilitate growth through the rest of the decade.

“We’re looking at secondhand Airbus and 737 aircraft,” O’Leary said, adding that the current pricing in the used aircraft market was making the option more attractive. “That’s if Boeing [doesn’t] step up with some additional orders. But at the moment, the Boeing management is running around like headless chickens, not able to sell aircraft.”

Mr. O’Leary also criticized Boeing for losing other longtime Boeing customers to Airbus, including the U.K.’s

Jet2

PLC and Australia’s

Qantas Airways Ltd.

“They are losing market share hand over fist to Airbus and don’t seem to be responding appropriately,” the airline executive said.

Write to Benjamin Katz at [email protected]