Ryanair is is “willing to wait years” for Boeing to drop its prices on the 737 Max 10, according to CEO Michael O’Leary.
The combative CEO told Reuters that the airline wasn’t “wasting any time on those MAX 10 discussions nor will we for a period of 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 years until we get to the next crisis.”
“We at Ryanair have always had the discipline to wait out the cycle,” he added.
Ryanair is Boeing’s biggest MAX customer in Europe, with 210 planes on order.
The price issue is over a second order of 250 other MAX 10s with a potential value of $33 billion.
The breakdown in negotiations is one of outlook, according to O’Leary.
He said that Boeing were behaving as if the pandemic was over while Ryanair believes that Boeing need the business.
“Boeing are looking for a price increase while many of their customers are moving to Airbus,” O’Leary said.
“We take the view we are still in a period of great crisis. Boeing take the view that now the world is fine and it’s all recovered and its latest pricing offer reflects that,” he said.
Britain Lagging Behind
Meanwhile, Eddie Wilson, CEO of Ryanair DAC, told Reuters that Britain was lagging behind the rest of Europe in terms of aviation recovery.
He blamed “confusing” Covid-19 restrictions and said that UK airports would struggle in the coming winter.
“Most European markets are recuperating,” he said. “..the exception is the UK (where) there’s this continued confusion.”
“It’s going to be a difficult winter for us – we’re stimulating (passenger numbers) with lower fares.”
