In 2024, Ryanair took delivery of 49 737-8200s, a lower number than planned due to several production line issues at Boeing. Most notably, the Boeing machinists strike which lasted 53 days from 13th September to 4th November. Knock-on effects meant that production of the 737 did not restart until 9th December significantly impacting airline customers around the world.
This week Ryanair said they are planning on receiving 29 new 737s this year which would leave nine aircraft from their existing Boeing 737-8200 order for delivery in 2026. The airline has a total of 210 737-8200s on order and a firm order for 150 x -10’s with options for another 150. Deliveries were planned for 2027 but the variant has yet to receive FAA certification despite an expectation that it would be by the end of 2024. By mid-November 2024, the three 737-10 Boeing test aircraft had accumulated over 1,200 hours of test flying over about 500 flights.
Speaking about the company’s delivery plans, Ryanair Head of Communications, Jade Kirwan said: “While most of Europe’s airlines remain capacity constrained, Ryanair is on track to take delivery of 29 new Boeing 737 aircraft in 2025. This additional capacity will enable Ryanair to grow our passengers from 200m in 2024 [Ryanair Fiscal Year] to 210m in 2025 and create 2,000 new jobs for highly paid aviation professionals at many of Europe’s most efficient, low-cost airports, where Govts are stimulating sustainable aviation growth by abolishing aviation taxes and lowering airport fees.”
197 Million Passengers Carried in 2024
2024 saw a growth of 8% in passenger numbers from 181.1 million passengers in 2023 to 197.2 million passengers in 2024. Load factor remained at 94%. Passenger numbers in December also grew by 8% to 13.6 million passengers with a 1% increase in load factor to 92%.
