Ryanair, Europe's largest airline by passenger volume, is beginning to recover from the impact of Boeing's safety checks after a sign fell off one of its Alaska Airlines planes in January .
The budget airline's CEO Michael O'Leary has criticized Boeing for being a “shit show” when it comes to manufacturing, as possible delays in plane deliveries for the summer could mean bad news.
Ryanair initially expected 57 Boeing 737 Max jets by June, but the airline's CEO isn't so sure anymore.
“Our growth has been limited because right now we don't really know how many planes we're going to get from Boeing,” O'Leary said during a private press briefing Friday, according to the Financial Times.
The Irish group operated 3,000 flights weekly last summer. But this time, it could be forced to reduce its flights and increase its fares by up to 10% in response to meet the demand of the season.
The Ryanair boss is also seeking compensation from Boeing as delays persist in plane deliveries, hurting its ability to serve passengers during the peak travel season.
“Boeing would try to claim that it’s excusable. I think we will get modest compensation from Boeing. But our goal is not to get compensation from Boeing, but to get the damn planes off of them,” O’Leary said.
Impact of Boeing scrutiny
Boeing was caught in a storm surrounding the safety of its planes following the incident. Alaska Airlines accident last month. This resulted in a halt to the expansion of its 737-9 Max aircraft production and hundreds of flight cancellations. Alaska Airlines also requested a refund from Boeing, as the grounded Boeing planes could represent a loss of at least $150 millionthe company said last month.
Ryanair's O'Leary has said in recent weeks that he confident about top Boeing executives who led the company through its safety crisis, but at the same time said the airline's delay was “inexcusable.”
“We deeply regret the impact this has on our valued customer Ryanair. We are working to address their concerns and are taking action on a comprehensive plan to strengthen the quality and delivery performance of the 737,” a Boeing spokesperson said. Fortune in a press release Monday.
The growing scrutiny on Boeing has direct implications for Ryanair, as it is a big customer of the Virginia-based aircraft maker and is ordering more. than 350 jets Max during the last years. At one point, O'Leary proposed to buy extra 737 Max 10 if there were no takers in the United States
The company has set itself an ambitious goal: to increase the number of passengers it serves over the next 10 years to reach 300 million-from 183.5 million expected for the current financial year ending in March. O'Leary warned that the impact of the Boeing crisis could be felt on passenger volumes next year, according to the FT.
Ryanair has lowered its profit forecast by almost 5%, due to fuel costs and travel sites removing their flight listings following a lengthy dispute.
Ryanair representatives declined to comment beyond O'Leary's remarks.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
