Yahoo Finance Ryanair not planning to cancel Boeing orders after Ethiopian crash
Ryanair (RYA.L) is not planning to cancel its huge order of Boeing (BA) jets following the second fatal crash involving the model in just five months, the airline’s CEO, Michael O’Leary, said.
O’Leary said he was “not particularly” concerned that Sunday’s crash of an Ethiopian Airlines plane would impact his airline’s order of 135 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.
“We need to wait and see what the outcome of the investigation will be,” he said, noting that the airline “wouldn’t take any action at the moment.”
Ireland-based Ryanair, which carried almost 140 million passengers in 2018, is one of the world’s largest airlines.
It is expected to take a delivery of one of the new jets at the end of April, followed by two in May, and a further two in June. Another 50 will be delivered before it begins its summer season in 2020.
The 737 MAX has become Boeing’s fastest-selling plane.
In an interview with the Irish Independent, O’Leary said that he thought there would be results from the investigation before his airline took delivery of any of the aircraft.
“There will be some detailed feedback or at least an understanding of the causes in the next days or week or two,” he said.
A number of airlines — including Ethiopian Airlines, Cayman Airways, and Comair — have grounded the aircraft, even as experts warn that it is too early to say what caused the deadly crash, which killed all 157 people on board instantly.
Aviation authorities in Singapore and Australia have also temporarily grounded the plane.
In October, 189 people were killed when a Lion Air-operated 737 MAX crashed into the Java Sea.
Boeing shares fell by as much as 13% on Monday before recovering, as the manufacturer said that it would deploy a software upgrade to the model.
The US Federal Aviation Administration also said it would mandate “design changes” to the MAX by April.
