Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary has raised concerns about the quality control of aircraft from the US manufacturing giant Boeing.
O’Leary’s complaint of what is characterised as “minor issues” with new aircraft deliveries from Boeing was made during an interview earlier this week with the Financial Times.
Boeing 737 MAX 9 Issues
The comments by the head of the major low-cost airline come in the wake of an incident involving an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9, which has now seen the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) move to investigate the manufacturer.
The subject aircraft lost a door plug fitted to an unused aft-cabin emergency exit location. After the incident, the FAA was notified of additional discrepancies on other Boeing 737-9 airplanes.
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On Thursday 11, the US agency advised that it had formally notified Boeing that it was conducting an investigation to determine if the aircraft manufacturer had failed to ensure that completed products conformed to its approved design and with us in compliance with FAA regulations.
The major Irish carrier Ryanair does not operate any of the 737 MAX 9 aircraft which are at the centre of the FAA investigation.
Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary Comments
The airline’s boss Michael O’Leary noted that the problems associated with the MAX 9 did not affect the MAX 8 aircraft currently in operation, or the new MAX 10 aircraft that Ryanair has on order.
O’Leary clarified that he remained committed to Boeing for open orders due to the airline, but noted that Ryanair had discovered instances of poor quality standards with aircraft coming from the US manufacturing line.
Amidst a call on Boeing to improve its quality control, the Ryanair boss also made observations which were pertinent to both the major manufacturing giants Boeing and Airbus, citing the move to turn out aircraft as quickly as possible to meet pent-up demand as an underlying factor.
“We ourselves have found minor issues on aircraft deliveries that shouldn’t be occurring in a world class manufacturer like Boeing and I think Boeing have more to do on the quality control side,” O’Leary said.
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