Ryanair orders 175 Boeing aircraft
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Ryanair has ordered 175 aircraft from Boeing in a deal worth US$15.6 billion (GBP10.3bn).
The low-cost carrier has ordered 737NGs which will boost its fleet from 300 to 400 with some older aircraft to be replaced by some of the new orders.
Overall its capacity will increase by 25% to 100 million passengers a year by March 2019.
“These 175 new airplanes will enable us to lower cost and airfares even further, thereby widening Ryanair’s cost and price leadership over other airlines in Europe. They provide Ryanair with the additional capacity to exploit substantial growth opportunities that currently exist as many of Europe’s flag carrier and smaller airlines are restructuring and reducing their short-haul operations,” said Michael O’Leary, CEO of Ryanair.
Under the deal the carrier will have the largest Boeing fleet in Europe, while other airlines have been opting for orders from European planemaker Airbus. Earlier this week Indonesian carrier Lion Air placed a record Airbus order for 234 aircraft, while Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines placed Airbus orders last week.