Neither tariffs nor the threat of a trade war between the European Union and the United States bother Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary, despite the fact that his company is buying up to 329 aircraft from Seattle-based manufacturer Boeing.
He is sticking with his view that US president Donald Trump will continue to stall their introduction until the two jurisdictions agree a trade deal. In addition, O’Leary maintains that the indications from Washington are that the authorities could exempt aircraft from any such regime.
In any case, the Ryanair boss says his company has a fixed-price contract with Boeing, so the manufacturer must bear any extra costs resulting from tariffs.
However, if both sides end up levying import charges on aircraft, O’Leary maintains that the carrier will work with Boeing to ease this burden as far as possible.
That could include delaying deliveries, or taking delivery of new jets via the UK, which is outside the EU and has an existing trade deal with the US.
Ryanair is waiting on the last 29 of 210 Boeing 737 Max game-changer jets. It has a firm order for 150 of the Max 10 model with an option to take 150 more.
US authorities have yet to certify the Max 10 but that is likely to happen this year, allowing Ryanair to take delivery of the first 15 of these planes in 2027.
The new aircraft will push the airline’s capital spending past the €2 billion mark in 2027, a cost that chief financial officer Neil Sorahan expects Ryanair to cover from its own resources.
All being well, the Irish carrier looks set to grow from 206 million passengers this year to 300 million in 2034, by which time Donald Trump and tariffs could be a distant memory.
