Boeing strike to slow down Ryanair’s growth plans: CEO Michael O’Leary (NYSE:BA)

Ryanair (Nasdaq:RayaiBoeing CEO Michael O’Leary said Saturday that the aircraft contract extension (New York Stock Exchange: BAThe workers’ strike could cut the number of aircraft the company receives by next summer to 20 from an expected 25.

The Irish carrier was expecting to receive The strike has halted deliveries of 30 aircraft from the US aircraft maker by the summer of 2025, a number that has now been cut to 25 and could be cut to another 20 if the strike lasts three to four weeks, O’Reilly said.

The low-cost carrier, one of Boeing’s largest customers, was supposed to receive 50 aircraft before the summer of 2024, but has only received 35, O’Reilly added.

in Interview with Irish newspaper NewstalkO’Reilly said the airline had to slow its growth this year. While Ryanair originally planned to carry 205 million passengers in 2024, it now expects to carry 200 million.

Ryanair now “buys more Boeing aircraft than any other airline anywhere in the world,” O’Reilly said. Last year, the company placed an order for 300 new Boeing 737-MAX-10 aircraft.

Last week, about 33,000 members of the International Union of Machinists and Aircraft Workers voted 96 percent in favor of striking. The rejected contract included a 25 percent pay raise over four years.

The strikes add to an already turbulent time at Boeing after recent incidents such as the widely publicized emergency exit explosion, the departure of the company’s CEO, and Senate hearings.

“I have no doubt that Boeing will fix this strike,” O’Reilly said in the interview, adding, “It could take several weeks.”

O’Reilly expects Boeing to take two to three years to get back on track. “All of Boeing’s customers are experiencing delivery delays,” he said.