Ryanair Holdings (OTC: RYAAY) has announced a downward revision of its passenger forecast for fiscal 2026, attributing the change to delays in aircraft deliveries from Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA).
What Happened: Ryanair reported its earnings for the first half of fiscal year 2025 on Monday. The company highlighted that it will be carrying fewer passengers than initially planned for the next fiscal year.
The report noted that, despite these delivery delays, Ryanair's traffic increased by 9% to 115 million customers, with ancillary revenues rising by 10% to €2.74 billion ($2.98 billion). However, operating costs also climbed by 8% to €6.68 billion, partly due to the delivery disruptions. Although Ryanair received some compensation via maintenance credits, it was not enough to offset the expected shortfall of over 5 million passengers in fiscal 2025.
Ryanair revealed that nine aircraft deliveries anticipated in the third quarter are now postponed to the fourth quarter due to recent strikes at Boeing. The airline is collaborating with Boeing to expedite deliveries before the peak summer of 2025. Consequently, Ryanair has revised its fiscal 2026 traffic growth target from 215 million to 210 million passengers to mitigate over-scheduling and increased costs.
Why It Matters: The delivery delays stem from a seven-week strike at Boeing, which has significantly impacted the company's production capabilities. Boeing recently proposed a new contract with a 38% wage increase and a $12,000 bonus to end the strike, which involved over 33,000 factory workers on the U.S. West Coast. The workers are set to cast their vote on this new proposal. The strike has disrupted Boeing's cash flow and halted production of key aircraft models.
Earlier, analysts noted that Boeing's production delays were not unexpected, as the company had been focusing on product quality controls. Despite delivering 40 commercial jets in August, Boeing's production was affected by a manufacturing defect impacting 737 MAX production.
Price Action: Boeing was trading slightly higher, by 0.27% during Monday's pre-market hours, as per Benzinga Pro, while in the Irish stock market, Ryan Air was down by 2.77% in the regional market hours.