Ryanair (FR, Dublin International) has revealed it now expects to take only forty B737-8-200s before June 2024 instead of the originally planned 57, which will force it to trim its summer schedule.
"Ryanair's current Summer 2024 season schedule was based on receiving a minimum of fifty B737 aircraft, and Ryanair will now have to reduce approximately ten aircraft lines of flying for the peak summer months of July, August, and September," it said.
Ryanair will continue to work with Boeing on receiving the additional ten B737-8-200s during the summer months, but given the uncertainty it will not be able to put this capacity on sale, it added. The low-cost carrier has historically avoided inducting aircraft during the summer peak to avoid any potential disruption during its busiest time of the year.
The current delivery plan marks a further cut from the January 2024 estimate, when Ryanair Holdings CEO Michael O'Leary said that the airline could receive around fifty B737-8-200s by the summer 2024 peak.
The company said the cuts would affect its network from Dublin International, Milan Malpensa, Warsaw Modlin, Lisbon, Faro, Porto, and Funchal - airports it chose, it said, due to "costs rising faster than inflation".
The ch-aviation fleets module shows Ryanair Holdings currently operates 144 B737-8-200s, placed on the Ryanair, Buzz (Poland), and Malta Air AOCs. It has a further 66 on order. The LCC holding is currently one of just two operators of the type in the world - India's Akasa Air has a single B737-8-200 - and its largest customer. It also has an order for 150 B737-10s and recently said it would be willing to take over any of the type cancelled by other airlines due to Boeing's quality issues.
The group's previous-generation fleet comprises 397 B737-800s and a single B737-700, plus twenty-eight A320-200s operated by Lauda Europe (LW, Malta International).
