Ryanair Takes Delivery Of First Of 180 New Boeing 737-800 Ngs
10-Sep-2014 Ryanair, Europe's favourite low fares airline, today (10 Sep) took delivery of the first of its 180 new Boeing 737-800 NG order, worth $16 billion at current list prices. The aircraft touched down in Dublin Airport, flown from Boeing Field, Seattle, by Ryanair Chief Pilot, Capt Ray Conway.
Ryanair will take 20 further 737-800 NG aircraft deliveries between September 2014 and July 2015, which will enable the airline to open more routes and additional frequencies on existing routes for Summer 2015.
On Monday, Ryanair signed an agreement with Boeing to purchase up to 200 new Boeing 737 MAX 200 "gamechanger" aircraft (100 firm & 100 options). When finalised and all options exercised, this deal will be worth over $22bn at current list prices.
Ryanair becomes the lead customer for this new aircraft which for Ryanair will feature 197 seats (8 more than Ryanair's existing 737-800s) and new CFM LEAP-1B engines, which combined with aerodynamic improvements will reduce fuel consumption by up to 18% in Ryanair's configuration and reduce operational noise emissions by 40%.
This will further reduce Ryanair's industry leading low costs, and these savings will be passed on via lower fares to Ryanair's customers, which will now grow from 82m in 2014 to over 150m customers p.a. by the end of the delivery stream in FY2024.
In Dublin, Ryanair's Michael O'Leary said:
"We are delighted to take delivery of the first of our 180 new Boeing 737-800 aircraft. These new Boeing aircraft enable Ryanair to keep the fleet average age below 5 years, while providing our customers with unmatched punctuality, reliability and an improved customer experience. We will have 21 more aircraft for Summer 2015 which will allow Ryanair to offer more new routes and increased frequencies to more customers than ever before.
Ryanair operates the largest fleet of Boeing airplanes in Europe and we are proud and honoured to become the lead operator of Boeing's "gamechanger" 737 MAX 200 aircraft which will expand our fleet to 520 aircraft by 2024 and create another 3,000 new jobs for pilots, cabin crew and engineers in Europe, while allowing us to grow traffic from 82m last year to over 150m p.a. by FY2024."