European budget airline Ryanair threatened to cancel hundreds of orders of Boeing aircraft amid tariffs imposed by the United States, which have driven prices higher and is considering alternative suppliers, including Chinese planemaker COMAC.The news agency Reuters first reported the story on Thursday.
The airline had ordered 330 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft – at a list price of more than $30bn.
Ryanair’s chief executive Michael O’Leary said in a letter to an undisclosed senior US lawmaker “If the US government proceeds with its ill-judged plan to impose tariffs, and if these tariffs materially affect the price of Boeing aircraft exports to Europe, then we would certainly reassess both our current Boeing orders, and the possibility of placing those orders elsewhere,” Reuters reported.
The threat by Europe’s largest low-cost carrier, and one of Boeing’s biggest customers, was the latest sign of a potential reordering of the global aerospace industry if Trump does not exempt the sector from his tariff plans. Advertisement
The letter, seen by Reuters, was a response to a warning by US Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, a Democrat from Illinois, about the security implications of Ryanair following through on an earlier suggestion it might consider a COMAC order.
But with COMAC not yet certified in Europe, and Boeing’s main rival Airbus saying it is sold out through the rest of the decade, Ryanair may find it hard to follow through on its threat, one industry source told Reuters.
Escalating tensions
O’Leary’s letter is an escalation from a previous threat in April, in which he said that the airline would delay deliveries.
In March, he said that Boeing executives had privately expressed confid …