Ryanair CEO Confirms Airbus Talks For Lauda Fleet Renewal

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia—Ryanair Group CEO Michael O’Leary has confirmed he is in talks with Airbus regarding a refresh of subsidiary Lauda’s A320 fleet.

“If I could do an Airbus order for 50 aircraft—which would give 25 aircraft to Lauda and would give Lauda 25 aircraft to expand—I would happily do it,” O’Leary told Aviation Week on Nov. 25 onboard a Boeing 737-8-200 during a flight from Bratislava to Vienna.

“They don’t really trust me, and they don’t particularly like me,” O’Leary said of his relationship with Airbus. “They’re convinced that no matter what they offer me, I will show it to Boeing—and of course I will!” But he insisted interest in an Airbus order for Lauda “is real.”

“The problem at the moment is, the Airbus [A320neo family] orderbook is full to 2031, 2032,” the CEO said, adding that Ryanair has to wait for the next downturn in the industry which would be its opportunity to expand and order more aircraft.

Asked if the A320neo or A321neo are of particular interest for Lauda, O’Leary said it all depends on the operating cost. “I couldn’t care less if it would be an Ceo, a Neo, a 320, a 321—if you can get it at a low cost per seat, whether new or second hand, we don’t care,” he said. “Ultimately, if we can’t find new Airbus [aircraft], we’ll have to put 737s in there.”

When asked if bringing aircraft in from lessors could be an option for the Lauda fleet refresh, O’Leary dismissed the idea. “You can’t have a low-cost airline working with a leasing company; these are the cocaine-dealers of the industry,” he said. “They give you an aircraft, but it is very expensive and then you go bust.”

He describes the current Lauda A320ceo fleet as “cheap” in terms of favorable leasing rates which were renegotiated after the pandemic and extended to 2028-29. Aviation Week Intelligence Network’s Fleet Discovery database shows the 25 aircraft have an average age of 17.64 years.

Delivery Gap

Ryanair will close out 2025 with 660 aircraft in its fleet. O’Leary expects to receive the last four 737-8-200s in January and February of next year. “And then the first 15 of the MAX 10s should coming in spring 2027,” he said.

This will create at least a year-long gap in aircraft deliveries once all 210 737-8-200s are received and before deliveries of the delayed 737-10 begin, pending certification. Ryanair has ordered 300 of the 737-10 variant which are due to arrive by March 2034.

Regarding the certification process, Boeing is getting more optimistic by the day, O’Leary said. “The MAX 7 should get certified in the second quarter, MAX 10 at the second quarter, early [third quarter] next year,” he said. The quality of Wichita-produced 737 fuselages has improved “terrifically” in terms of defects, O’Leary added. “That speeds up the manufacture in Seattle as well.”