Ryanair, Europe’s largest low-cost airline, announced on Thursday that it will cut the number of flights in the winter due to Boeing delays in the delivery of ordered planes, Reuters reported.
The Irish airline, one of Boeing’s biggest customers, said in a press release it expected to receive a shipment of 27 new planes between September and December, but delays at the Kansas plant and maintenance operations have cut the number. he will receive only 14 planes.
According to the statement, the flights will be canceled at the end of October, and passengers who have already purchased tickets will be notified in the coming days.
“At this time, we do not expect delivery delays to significantly impact our target traffic [pentru 2023] 183.5 million passengers,” the same source said, without specifying how Ryanair plans to compensate for the canceled flights.
However, Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary said that “if delays worsen or continue into January-March 2024, we may have to review that figure and perhaps reduce it slightly.”
Ryanair’s share price fell 2.8% on Thursday after the announcement.
Ryanair is reducing the number of its aircraft in Belgium, Italy, Germany and Portugal
The airline already in July revised its forecast for total passengers this year from 185 million to 183.5 million, also citing Boeing delays.
Last year, O’Leary repeatedly criticized Boeing for delays that were already known to affect the 2023 race, but in May reached an agreement to buy 300 new planes from the American company.
Ryanair executives said deliveries had “improved significantly” after Boeing discovered a flaw last month that slowed deliveries of its 737 MAX, the company’s best-selling plane.
But Ryanair has now said it will have to cut three of its aircraft at Charleroi in Belgium, while Dublin will lose two and its Italian fleet will lose five, from Bergamo, Naples and Pisa.
Airports in the UK, Porto and Cologne will also be affected, although no final decision has yet been made on the number of aircraft they will lose.
Source: Hot News
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