The budget carrier, announcing its first-half results on Monday (4 November), said the move would inevitably lead to pilot and cabin crew job losses, echoing a July trading statement.
While Ryanair is yet to publicly identify all the bases likely to be affected, it confirmed in August it would close its winter bases in the Canaries while retaining its Faro (Algarve) operation.
“Sadly, due to the Max delivery delays, we will be forced to cut or close a number of loss making bases this winter leading to pilot and cabin crew job losses,” said Ryanair on Monday. “We continue to work with our people and their unions to finalise this process.”
Ryanair now expects its first Max aircraft to be delivered in March or April 2020 “at the earliest”, with deliveries still yet likely to be subject to approval by the European Aviation Safety Agency (Easa). Deliveries of its new aircraft had been due to get under way in Q2 2019, and Ryanair says the risk of further delay is rising.
“We expect to receive only 20 Max-200s (previously 58) in time for summer 2020 which has cut our summer 2020 growth rate from 7% to 3% (162 million to 157 million guests in full-year 2021,” said the carrier in a business review, adding it didn’t now expect to see any expected cost savings delivered until full-year 2021.
However, Ryanair has stressed it still believes in the 737 Max and their ability to “transform” its cost base and its business “for the next decade”.
The 737 Max was grounded worldwide following two fatal incidents in just five months. Lion Air flight 610 crashed shortly after taking off from Jakarta in October 2018 and this was followed by a crash involving Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 in March. All 346 people onboard the two flights were killed.
Meanwhile, Ryanair has cut its full-year profit guidance to a new range of €800 million to €900 million, despite posting first-half net profits of €1.15 billion.
