By Padraic Halpin and Allison Lampert
DUBLIN (Reuters) – Ryanair would consider cancelling planes it has on order from Boeing if U.S. tariffs materially affect the price and look at alternative suppliers, chief executive Michael O’Leary said on Thursday.
Ryanair, Europe’s largest airline by passenger numbers, is due to take delivery of the final 29 aircraft from a 210-plane 737 MAX order by March next year. It also has 150 firm orders for the MAX 10, the largest jet in the 737 family, and options for 150 more, with the first deliveries due in 2027.
“If the U.S. government proceeds with its ill-judged plan to impose tariffs, and if these tariffs materially affect the price of Boeing aircraft exports to Europe, then we would certainly reassess both our current Boeing orders, and the possibility of placing those orders elsewhere,” O’Leary said in a letter to a senior U.S. lawmaker seen by Reuters.
Boeing was not immediately available for comment.
O’Leary’s threat to cancel orders comes after he told a European conference days before U.S. President Donald Trump announced tariffs that Boeing executives had privately expressed confidence that aircraft would be exempted from the measures.
Aircraft industry sources say Boeing and Airbus contracts do not include any provision for tariffs, since the industry has for decades operated without them.
Also, tariffs only become due once ownership of the aircraft has passed to the purchasing airline and the contract has been completed.
Most contracts include a clause requiring all sides to pay their own taxes without explicitly mentioning tariffs, the sources said. But many companies are said to be reviewing the wording of contracts for future deals on the assumption that trade turbulence will remain for some time.
AIRBUS SOLD OUT
O’Leary was responding to a warning from U.S. Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, a Democrat from Illinois, against Ryanair purchasing Chinese-made aircraft due to security concerns. This followed comments from O’Leary that he would consider doing so at the right price.
O’Leary said in the letter to Krishnamoorthi that the Irish airline has not had any discussions with Chinese planemaker COMAC about aircraft purchases since about 2011 but that it would “of course” consider it if they were 10%-20% cheaper than Boeing’s main rival Airbus.
Airbus, which is Boeing’s only competitor for large single-aisle aircraft that are currently certified in Europe, has repeatedly said it is sold out through the rest of the decade.
COMAC does not make an equivalent to the MAX 10. Its C919 jet is around 150 seats or up to around 190 in dense layouts, smaller than the Boeing planes Ryanair currently flies and the MAX 10 on order which can seat up to 230.
Industry sources say Ryanair, Boeing’s largest non-U.S. customer, benefits from guaranteed lowest prices from Boeing in its region but is frustrated at seeing the airline’s growth checked by a string of problems that have affected the MAX.
O’Leary told Reuters last month there had been a marked increase in quality of deliveries in the past year.
(Reporting by Padraic Halpin, additoinal reporting by Tim Hepher and Allison Lampert; Editing by Conor Humphries and Jane Merriman)
