Low-cost airline Ryanair expects to be hit by delays in deliveries from US aviation giant Boeing. This means that it will be short of 5-10 planes during the peak summer, which in turn will hamper traffic growth. Ryanair's long-standing CEO Michael O'Leary told the Financial Times. 

”"We were supposed to have 27 aircraft delivered before Christmas, we got 11. We were supposed to have 57 aircraft delivered to us by the end of April, and we think we'll be lucky if we get 50 by the end of June," O'Leary told the business magazine. "So we're going to be short five, seven, maybe 10 aircraft for the summer peak season this year," he continues.

Ryanair was due to receive 57 Boeing MAX 8200 aircraft by the end of April. Delivery delays mean the airline is likely to carry 200 million passengers in the financial year that starts in April, compared with a previously expected 205 million.

”It costs us, if we're talking about being down 5 million on 205 million passengers… probably two, two and a half percent of the profit,” says O'Leary.

The delays will also have an effect on traffic growth during the current financial year. 

This is not the first time that delays have affected growth. It was the same this winter. The company expects a total of 183.5 million passengers to fly on its planes during the current financial year. The original forecast was 185 million. 

Ryanair is one of Boeing's largest customers. 

Source: FinWire