Ryanair Sees Trump As Boeing ‘Champion’ In Rivalry With Airbus
Output at Boeing’s factories tumbled in 2024 following a near-catastrophic 737 Max accident in January and a nearly two-month strike later in the year.
Donald Trump’s return to the White House is set to give Boeing Co. the boost it needs to become more competitive, according to the biggest European operator of the US planemaker’s flagship 737 Max.
“Trump wants to champion those national industries,” Eddie Wilson, who heads the main unit of Irish budget carrier Ryanair Holdings Plc, said in an interview in Milan. “We would like to think that Boeing will become much more aggressive in their competition” with Airbus SE.
Output at Boeing’s factories tumbled in 2024 following a near-catastrophic 737 Max accident in January and a nearly two-month strike later in the year. The slowdown was a setback for Ryanair, which aims to expand its all-Boeing fleet to 800 jets by 2034. Airbus delivered twice as many planes, with many of those going to Ryanair competitors like EasyJet Plc and Wizz Air Holdings Plc.
As the US planemaker works to stabilize its plants and return production to more-normal levels, Ryanair is set provide an update on its expectation for 2025 aircraft deliveries when it reports quarterly results on Monday, Wilson said.
Chief Executive Officer Michael O’Leary said in October that the carrier was scheduled to receive 30 planes from Boeing between March and the June start of its peak summer season, but cautioned the company would be “doing well” if it received 10-15 of those.
Ryanair is still waiting on a full plan from Boeing, Wilson said.
“They’re just coming out of the strike and they’re just getting production back up and running,” Wilson said. “We’ll take all the aircraft they can produce.”
Having Boeing’s new chief executive officer, Kelly Ortberg, based in its Seattle factory hub means the planemaker can focus more on getting aircraft out the door to customers, Wilson said.
“It will bring some focus to them in terms of being a national champion for America,” he said during an interview in Milan. “That’s got to be good for Ryanair.”
He added that the airline still expects certification of Boeing’s largest 737, the Max 10, late in 2025, and Ryanair is planning to start adding the variant to its fleet by mid-2026.
