A question mark hung over new Ryanair jet deliveries on Friday after US manufacturer Boeing confirmed that one of its suppliers has told it of a problem with some aircraft.
Ryanair is waiting on the delivery of 24 Boeing 737 8200 Max jets through April, May and June, from a total of 51 of the aircraft that it is due to receive this year.
The airline said on Friday that the manufacturer’s announcement did not affect Ryanair’s current fleet of 540 737 aircraft.
“We are assessing with Boeing how this will impact the 24 737 aircraft which are scheduled for delivery in the remainder of April, May and June,” the company added.
Ryanair confirmed when it published financial results in February that it expected to receive 51 737 8200s this year, but the airline has repeatedly criticised Boeing for delays in delivering new aircraft.
In February, chief financial officer Neil Sorahan said that 45 of the new aircraft would enable Ryanair to hit its target of carrying 185 million passengers over the 12 months to the end of next March.
The Irish airline is Boeing’s biggest European customer and has ordered 210 of the Max jets from the manufacturer. It received about 60 last year.
Supplier Spirit AeroSystems told Boeing that a “non-standard” manufacturing process was used fitting the upright tail fin to the rear section of the fuselage in certain 737-7, 737-8, 737-8200 aircraft as well as the P-8 marine rescue plane.
A Boeing spokesman said this was not an immediate “safety of flight issue” so in-service aircraft could continue flying.
“However, the issue will likely affect a significant number of undelivered 737 Max aeroplanes, both in production and storage,” he added.
Boeing has told US regulator the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) of the issue. According to news service Reuters, the agency validated the company’s assessment that there was no immediate safety issue, based on the information and data that it presented.
Meanwhile, its spokesman said that Boeing was working to carry out inspections and replace the non-conforming fittings where needed.
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“We expect lower near-term 737 Max deliveries while this required work is completed,” he confirmed, noting that the company was in regular contact with its customers.
Some versions of the Max use fittings from a different supplier and were installed correctly, according to reports on Friday.
The issue could date back to 2019 and Boeing is still determining how many aircraft could be impacted, the company said.
The US giant declined to comment on whether the problem will force it to roll back plans to boost 737 production as it races to deliver at least 400 Max aircraft this year.
The company, which announced deliveries of 111 Max aircraft over the first quarter, had aimed to increase monthly production of the model from 31 to 38 by June.
Officials told Reuters that the FAA is likely to issue an airworthiness directive that would mandate an inspection-and-repair regime.
European and US regulators have closely scrutinised Boeing aircraft since two fatal plane crashes in 2018 and 2019. The FAA continues to inspect each 737 Max and 787 aircraft before an airworthiness certificate is issued and cleared for delivery.
Typically the FAA delegates aeroplane ticketing authority to the manufacturer.
– Additional reporting: Reuters
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