RYANAIR AND BOEING have completed a deal that will see the Irish airline buy 175 new aircraft – bringing its fleet to over 400.
The deal, worth just over €12 billion ($15.6 billion) at current prices, will bring Ryanair’s fleet to over 400.
Documentation for the deal was signed by Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary and his Boeing Commercial Airplanes counterpart Ray Conner in New York today.
The purchase – of 175 ‘next generation’ Boeing 737-800 planes – will be the largest ever aircraft order by a European airline if it is approved by Ryanair’s shareholders later in the year.
Ryanair said the agreement would also represent the single biggest investment in US manufacturing ever made by an Irish company, and would sustain thousands of manufacturing jobs at Boeing.
Ryanair currently has a fleet of 305 Boeing 737-800 aircraft, about 75 of which would be replaced if the order is backed by Ryanair’s shareholders.
The airline says the expansion of its fleet would help to expand its passenger base – which stood at 79.6 million in 2012 – to over 100 million by March 2019.
“These 175 new airplanes will enable us to lower cost and airfares even further, thereby widening Ryanair’s cost and price leadership over other airlines in Europe,” O’Leary said.
“They provide Ryanair with the additional capacity to exploit substantial growth opportunities that currently exist as many of Europe’s flag carrier and smaller airlines are restructuring and reducing their short-haul operations.”
Boeing Commercial Airplanes chief executive Ray Conner said its partnership with Ryanair was “of the utmost importance to everyone at The Boeing Company and I could not be more proud to see it extended for years to come”.
Shares in Ryanair were up by 4c to €5.84 in London this morning.
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