Ryanair Bolsters Leap Spare Engines Pool

Ryanair will add more CFM International Leap-1B engines to its spares pool after announcing an agreement with the GE Aerospace-Safran joint venture to buy 30 more engines.

The Irish LCC said the engines were purchased at a list price of $500 million and will be delivered over the next two years, increasing Ryanair’s spare engine pool to 120.

Once arrived, the engines will support Ryanair’s fleet of 210 Boeing 737-8-200 aircraft and the 737-10 aircraft which will be delivered in 2027.

The airline plans to increase its fleet size to more than 800 737 aircraft over the next 8-9 years with projections to grow its passenger traffic to 300 million annually by 2034.

Ryanair Group CEO Michael O’Leary said that the CFM engines would reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions per seat by up to 20% when installed on its 737 MAX fleet.

Further supporting this is a planned ramp up of its maintenance operations. Currently, Ryanair estimates around 75% of checks carried out on its aircraft are conducted in house, with the remainder outsourced to third-party MRO shops.

The carrier plans to look for additional heavy maintenance slots from its external partners, which include the likes of Aeroplex, Caerdav, Joramco and MyTechnic, while also growing internal capacity at some of its existing shops spread across several European locations.

Ryanair also plans to grow its in-house engine MRO capacity. Earlier this year, the airline announced plans to add two engine MRO locations to bring more engine work in-house and as is speaking to several governments from potential locations. A decision is expected to be made later this year.

Once finalized, the carrier expects each engine facility to have capacity for around 200 overhauls annually with both sites employing around 500 people.