Ryanair, Europe’s largest airline, has announced adjustments to its winter 2023 flight schedule due to delays in Boeing aircraft deliveries.
Initially, Ryanair expected to receive 27 new Boeing aircraft from September to December, but due to challenges at the Spirit Fuselage facility in Wichita and issues with repairs and deliveries by Boeing in Seattle, they will now receive only 14 aircraft from October to December. In response, Ryanair is working with Boeing to expedite deliveries between January and May 2024, aiming to enter the summer peak travel season with the promised 57 new Boeing aircraft.
Changes to the airline’s schedule
As a result of these delivery delays, Ryanair will implement changes to its winter 2023 schedule this week. They will reduce the number of aircraft based in Charleroi by 3, in Dublin by 2, and reduce 5 aircraft across 4 Italian bases, including Bergamo, Naples, and Pisa. Additionally, there will be reductions in aircraft in East Midlands, Porto, and Cologne.
Ryanair extends its apologies for the unavoidable adjustments to its winter 2023 schedule. The airline lacks spare aircraft this winter due to scheduled maintenance required for its fleet of over 550 aircraft to ensure readiness for its largest-ever summer 2024 program.
Michael O’Leary, CEO of Ryanair, said:
“We are actively collaborating with Boeing and their supplier, Spirit, to minimize these delivery delays. It is regrettable that production issues in Wichita and Seattle have once again resulted in delays in Boeing’s contracted deliveries to Ryanair for this winter.
We maintain regular communication with Boeing, and our primary goal is to secure the delivery of all 57 contracted B737 aircraft by the end of May 2024, allowing Ryanair’s fleet to expand to over 600 aircraft for our largest-ever summer flight program.
These flight cancellations will commence at the end of October, and affected passengers will be contacted via email in the coming days, offering them options for rebooking on alternative flights or receiving full refunds, whichever suits them. We sincerely apologize to passengers for any inconveniences caused by these delivery delays this winter.”
At this point in time, Ryanair does not anticipate that these delivery delays will significantly impact their full-year passenger target of 183.5 million. However, if the delays worsen or extend beyond January to March 2024, they may need to reconsider this target and potentially make slight adjustments downward.
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