Ryanair's (NASDAQ:RYAAY) CEO, Michael O'Leary, has publicly criticized Boeing (NYSE:BA) due to ongoing delays in delivering its flagship 737 Max planes. He warned that if the anticipated delivery of 57 aircraft by April slips into July or August, Ryanair might reject them. This comes on the heels of Boeing's announcement of a reduced delivery forecast for this year, with the number of narrow-body planes expected to be delivered dropping from 400-450 to just 375-400.
O'Leary expressed skepticism about the delivery of the promised aircraft by the end of June due to these continuous problems. These issues are not new for Ryanair; their history with Boeing supply delays dates back to 2009 when they canceled an order for 200 planes. Currently, almost all aircraft in Ryanair's fleet are Boeing 737s, except for 28 A320s operated by Lauda.
These fresh delays have forced Ryanair to modify its winter schedule, disrupting up to 1.4 million passengers. Amidst strong demand for travel, O'Leary is keen on leveraging the situation where competitors, including International Airlines Group (LON:ICAG) grounding 32 planes, are forced to ground jets due to Pratt & Whitney engines' faults. He stressed the importance of receiving all ordered aircraft to maintain low fares and continue operations while competitors are grounded.
In response to these threats and criticisms, Boeing reaffirmed their commitment to supporting Ryanair. They have yet to comment on whether these disruptions may extend beyond mid-2024 as speculated by O'Leary.
InvestingPro Insights
According to real-time data from InvestingPro, Boeing's market capitalization stands at $108.71 billion. Despite facing challenges, the company has seen a revenue growth of 23.34% over the last 12 months as of Q3 2023. However, the company's gross profit margin was relatively low at 11.44% during the same period.
Two key InvestingPro Tips to note are that Boeing is a prominent player in the Aerospace & Defense industry, yet it has been struggling with profitability. Over the last 12 months, the company was not profitable, and analysts do not anticipate it will be profitable this year. This is reflected in the company's P/E ratio, which is currently not applicable due to the lack of earnings.
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