Ryanair has announced it has reached an agreement with CFM to buy 30 new spare LEAP-1B engines which have a list price of $500m. These fuel-efficient engines, which will be delivered over the next two years, will support Ryanair’s fleet of 210 Boeing 737 Gamechanger aircraft and also the Boeing 737 MAX-10 aircraft which start deliveries in 2027. These 30 new engines greatly increase Ryanair’s pool of spare engines to over 120, which will enhance Ryanair’s operational resilience. Ryanair plans to increase its fleet to 800 Boeing 737 aircraft to grow its traffic to 300m passengers per annum by 2034. Ryanair has been a CFM customer since 1998, operating the largest fleet of CFM-powered Boeing airplanes, including the largest CFM56-powered Next-Generation 737 fleet in Europe. Ryanair placed a new order in 2023 for LEAP-1B engines to power 150 firm and 150 option Boeing 737-10 aircraft.
Since entering service, CFM LEAP-1B engines have accumulated nearly 30 million flight hours and 12 million cycles. The advanced CFM LEAP engine family reduces fuel consumption CO2 emissions by 15 percent compared to CFM56 engines, along with a significant reduction in noise.
Commenting on the deal, Ryanair CEO, Michael O’Leary said, “We are pleased to continue to develop our longstanding partnership with CFM (Safran & GE Aerospace). Today’s purchase of 30 new LEAP-1B spare engines is a significant commitment to improve the operational resilience of our Group airlines. These latest technology CFM engines reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions per seat by up to 20 percent when installed on our B737 MAX fleet, which will further widen Ryanair’s cost leadership over competitor airlines in Europe.”
Also commenting was the President and CEO of CFM International, Gaël Méheust who added, “This new agreement is another milestone in the long and successful partnership we have built with Ryanair. We look forward to continuing to support Ryanair’s significant growth by providing them with industry-leading reliability and utilization standards.”
