Ryanair to cut traffic estimate for 2025 due to plane delivery delays

Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary revealed on Wednesday that the airline will be obligated to revise down its estimated passenger traffic for the next year due to aircraft delivery delays from Boeing.

What delays?

Boeing is currently struggling with a 33,000-worker strike along with continuous fallout from safety fears. Due to the ongoing issues, the plane-maker has delayed their delivery of 777X jetliners and announced a 17,000-job cut worldwide, as well as delays to their flagship Boeing 737 aircraft, affecting the Ryanair Group.

Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg announced that their 777X jetliners would undergo a delay, with an estimated completion date of 2026. This delay has caused significant problems, and when combined with issues with chain suppliers, it has begun to inconvenience numerous airlines, including Emirates and Ryanair.

O’Leary added that he has never seen this level of capacity constraints.

Capacity constraints in the sector are becoming increasingly problematic, with Ryanair comments being the most prominent among the airlines due to plane-makers Boeing and Airbus struggling to meet delivery goals.

Other airlines have also expressed concerns over the delivery issues. Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr stated that:

“I’ve never seen anything like it in our industry, to be honest.”.

O’Leary is currently having weekly talks with Boeing officials about the delays, with a plan to meet with CEO Kelly Ortberg in the upcoming weeks.

Emirates President Tim Clark has exerted pressure on Boeing following a delay in their 205 plane order, declaring a lack of confidence in the US plane-makers’ ability to provide accurate delivery forecasts. This has led to the carrier making an order for the Airbus A350 aircraft for it’s fleet renewal program.

Impact on Ryanair

Michael O’Leary announced that “we were supposed to get 20 deliveries before the end of December”. They will likely arrive in January and February.

They are further at risk if there is a delay in a 30-aircraft order for March-June of next year. This will push back their traffic growth for the following year. The airline would need an estimate of 10 or 15 of the aircraft to continue operating as usual.

“We want to avoid next year what we had this year. We had geared up, we crewed up the 50 aircraft, and then we only got 30… we were overcrowded, overstaffed. There was a significant cost penalty this year.”

What are your thoughts on the struggles Boeing are currently going through? We’re keen to hear your opinions below.