Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY) CEO Michael O’Leary said Saturday that Boeing’s extended contract (NYSE:BA) the workers’ strike could reduce the number of planes delivered to the company by next summer from the expected 25 to 20.
The Irish carrier expected to receive O’Leary said the U.S. planemaker aims to take delivery of 30 planes by the summer of 2025; that number has now been reduced to 25 and could be further reduced to 20 if the strike lasts three to four weeks.
O’Leary added that the budget airline, one of Boeing’s (BA) biggest customers, was supposed to receive 50 of the planes by summer 2024 but only received 35.
IN interview with Irish NewstalkO’Leary said the airline had to leisurely its growth this year. While Ryanair (RYAAY) originally planned to carry 205 million passengers in 2024, it now expects to carry 200 million.
According to O’Leary, Ryanair now buys “more Boeing planes than any other airline in the world.” Last year, the carrier placed an order for 300 up-to-date Boeing 737-MAX-10 planes.
Last week, some 33,000 members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) voted 96 percent to strike. The rejected contract included a 25 percent pay raise over four years.
The strike follows a turbulent period at Boeing (BA) following recent incidents including a highly publicized emergency exit failure, the departure of the company’s CEO and Senate hearings.
“I have no doubt that Boeing will fix this strike,” O’Leary said in an interview. “It could take several weeks.”
O’Leary expects Boeing (BA) will need two to three years to get back on track. “All of Boeing’s customers are suffering from delayed deliveries,” he added.