Ryanair Boeing 737 8200
Ryanair is receiving special attention from Boeing. Reuters reports Boeing will “forward deliver” 25 MAXs by October. The article quotes Michael O’Leary complimenting Boeing. This is a change of tone compared to his past, less complimentary comments. This switch in tone says a lot – O’Leary does not shrink from straight talk.
A week ago, we noticed Ryanair was already getting this attention. We shared this chart on LinkedIn.
Ryanair is an important customer
Ryanair is the third largest MAX customer, as this chart illustrates. Like the other top customers, Ryanair does not wait long for a delivery. Mr. O’Leary has been ascerbic about delivery delays and quality. Even so, the data shows that Ryanair gets the same delivery rates as its peer group.
And, as an update to the first chart, this is where we stand today. For context, Airbus’s average delivery days for its best-selling A321 is also 22 days. Boeing may be behind Airbus in delivery rates, but its production is quickly catching up. Renton is humming as it bumps up against the rate 38 limit.
Production Tracking
We use the first flight date as a proxy for production. Here we list Ryanair MAX production from 2023 through yesterday.
The data show that Ryanair’s aircraft production has an irregular pattern. Given the MAX history, this is to be expected as Boeing works through the various program hiccups. However, consider these two tables. The 2025 data is current as of this morning.
As of this morning, we track 16 MAXs in production (post-first flight) for Ryanair. This compares to 39 for United and 33 for Southwest. While Mr. O’Leary is being kinder to Boeing now, he might become frustrated again. This may be focused on the FAA and the MAX 10.
Boeing has a backlog of MAX deliveries to work through for its Chinese customers. Additionally, many others are returning with more orders.
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