Ryanair Holdings, which runs the biggest fleet in Europe of Boeing 737 single-aisle aircraft, said the manufacturer should fit new engines on the jet to help carriers cut fuel costs as an all-new model remains years away.
Fuel accounts for almost 40 percent of the airline’s expenses, and a manufacturer that could deliver a plane with 12 to 14 percent higher fuel efficiency would let Dublin-based Ryanair cut its costs per passenger by 10 to 12 percent, Chief Financial Officer Howard Millar said in a telephone interview.
“It’s a very significant number that you can’t ignore,” Millar said yesterday. “We’re obviously very interested” in the concept of new engines, the executive said. Boeing and Airbus SAS are weighing the merits of an upgrade as they seek to sustain demand for their best-selling planes. Both companies are planning to raise production rates of their single-aisle planes, and also decide before the end of the year if they will offer new engines on existing models.
Millar said his preference would be an all-new single-aisle aircraft that could offer even greater savings than a so-called re-engined model. But delays on recent aircraft programs show that manufacturers tend to struggle to maintain their proposed launch schedules for new jets.