To continue: “At the moment we feel that Boeing’s management is like a headless chicken and incapable of selling planes. If they can do this, it won’t happen in time.” Those were the harsh words of the CEO of Europe’s largest budget airline, Michael O’Leary. His company has ordered nearly 400 planes since 2010 from the company that O’Leary says is so deficient.
It is not the first time the two companies have clashed. Last fall, O’Leary accused Boeing of selling the 737 Max for too much money. Ryanair eventually withdrew from the negotiations.
Reducing flights
The spicy statements do not come out of the blue, as Ryanair says it will have to reduce the number of flights in the spring and summer due to a number of aircraft that the company has ordered, but is receiving later than expected.
The CEO is even angrier because the type of aircraft his company has ordered is not a new model. “I can understand that building a new plane can be challenging, but a plane you built two years ago… All you had to do was put fuel in it and fly the planes to Dublin. I don’t understand why it takes three months longer. It smacks of very poor management performance in Seattle.”