Ryanair welcomed two new Boeing 737 Max 8-200 jets to its base in Dublin, Ireland. These deliveries mark Ryanair’s 30th and 31st 737s. The jets arrived on 6 May.
Ryanair welcomes even more Boeing jets
Ultra-low-cost carrier Ryanair has introduced two new Boeing 737 Max jets to its ever-growing fleet. These deliveries push Ryanair’s total of Boeing 737 spec aircraft to 267 (excluding its 8 UK subsidiary aircraft).
The two jets are just over a year old having completed assembly around February to March of last year. The 737s were in storage for a year before undergoing final test flights in April prior to their delivery to Ryanair.
The 737 Max jets took off from Boeing Field (formally known as King County International Airport) based near Seattle, Washington. Double deliveries are not as common as sending new aircraft one at a time but they can happen. Even triple deliveries can take place on occasion.
To reach Ryanair’s Swords, Dublin base, the two aircraft underwent a nearly nine-hour non-stop transatlantic journey half an hour apart.
Interestingly, these delivery flights are far outside the flight time the 737 Max typically flies. But delivery flights are able to be longer than the flight times assigned by the manufacturer because of the lack of passengers and cargo on board. In some cases the aircraft may not have the interior complete, making the aircraft even lighter and able to fly for even longer.
Despite the obvious setback in the wake of the pandemic, 737 Max deliveries to Ryanair have been consistently steady since June 2021. The carrier has received a couple of them they’ve purchased every month since last year – March 2022 was a busy month as Ryanair received 6 aircraft in quick succession.
With its announcement to launch a new pilot training programme in France in April, it appears that Ryanair is actively looking to the future – and it sees a further expansion in its future. Whether its fleet size or the number of fully trained Ryanair pilots readily available, Ryanair is focused on scaling up.
Let us know what you think about Ryanair’s new Boeing aircraft in the comments below.
