Ryanair's capacity growth over the summer of 2020 will be slowed by problems with the Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft model, a model of which the company has ordered over 135.
Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair now predicts that the Boeing model can be returned to service by the end of 2019, but capacity growth for next summer is also threatened as a consequence of the problems, according to a press release.
Ryanair expects to receive the first deliveries of the 737 Max between January and February 2020, so that next summer it will have 30 aircraft of the model in operation rather than the 58 that the company had previously expected. The growth rate is reduced to 3 percent from the previous 7 percent, the company writes. Ryanair also sees that the problems will affect during the winter of 2019, the company writes.
Traffic growth for the full year ending March 2021 is reduced to around 157 million to 162 million passengers.
In the long term, however, Ryanair continues to have "confidence" in the Boeing 737 Max, according to the press release.
On Monday, several media outlets reported that Ryanair had renamed a Boeing 737 Max to 737-8200. The model has been taken out of service on Boeing's orders, after authorities in several countries issued flight bans.
Two accidents, the first in Indonesia and the second in Ethiopia, are suspected to have been caused by a faulty autopilot system that forced the aircraft's nose down. 346 people died, including four Swedes.
Both Boeing and the FAA have been heavily criticized for the certification work that preceded the launch of the 737 Max, and the EU's equivalent of the US FAA has stated its intention to conduct an independent certification process before the plane can be returned to service in the region's airspace.
Of the airlines operating in the Nordic region, in addition to Ryanair, Norwegian has also placed large orders for a total of 110 737 Max planes. Norwegian has stated its intention to sue Boeing for the costs caused by the flight stoppage.
Source: Direct News Agency
