One of Boeing's biggest customers leveled fresh criticism over ongoing 737 Max delivery delays

• Ryanair, Europe's biggest airline, repeatedly criticized Boeing in its latest earnings report.
• The budget carrier said delays to plane deliveries would lead to a 5 million passenger shortfall.
• Profits at the Irish airline were down 18% compared to the same period last year.

Europe's largest airline by passengers, Ryanair, reported a significant drop in profits for the first half of its financial year, as ticket prices dropped and it faced delays in the delivery of new Boeing planes.

Ryanair's profits after tax fell to €1.79 billion ($1.95 billion) for the six months to the end of September, an 18% drop compared to the same period last year, it reported in earnings released on Monday.

The low-cost airline also lowered expectations for scheduled revenue by 2%, an outlook it said was driven by consumer spending pressure and a drop in bookings with online travel agents.

Though profits declined, passenger traffic was up 9% to a record 115 million for the first half of the financial year. The airline said that this increase came "despite repeated Boeing delivery delays."

"Many customers are switching to Ryanair for our lower air fares," Ryanair's CEO Michael O'Leary said.

Over the summer, the airline dropped ticket prices, with the average fare falling 10% to €52 ($57). But looking forward, O'Leary expected prices to moderate.

"Forward bookings suggest that Q3 demand is strong and the decline in pricing appears to be moderating," he said.

Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary has been one of Boeing's harshest critics in recent months. Foto: REUTERS/Yves Herman

Ryanair repeatedly criticized Boeing in its earnings report, saying that it had relied on savings from fuel hedging to offset higher spending on staff and other costs that had been caused by delays to the delivery of new planes.

It also said that due to delayed aircraft, it will fly 5 million fewer passengers in 2025 than previously expected.

"While modest delay compensation was received in H1 (mainly maintenance credits) this does not offset the substantial impact of a 5m+ passenger shortfall in FY25 due to these delivery delays," O'Leary said in the earnings report.

"While we continue to work with Boeing leadership to accelerate aircraft deliveries ahead of peak S.25, the risk of further delivery delays remains high," the CEO added.

Ryanair is one of Boeing's biggest customers and exclusively uses the 737 jet. It operates almost 600 of Boeing's signature narrowbody planes, with another 300 on order.

Boeing has struggled in recent months with delayed aircraft deliveries, exacerbated by ongoing questions about its quality control processes since the Alaska Airlines door blowout in January.

Compounding its problems in 2024, the aerospace titan has faced a seven-week-long strike by machinists that has yet to end, a leadership shake-up, including the installation of new CEO Kelly Ortberg, a safety audit, and a layoff of about 10% of its 170,000-member workforce.

The delays have affected airlines globally and brought condemnation from frustrated bosses, including O'Leary, Tim Clark, the president of Emirates, and United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby.

Read the original article on Business Insider