Ryanair Won’t Rule Out Comac, As Tariffs Loom Over Boeing Orderbook

Ryanair, Boeing’s largest customer in Europe, has warned that tariff costs may cause it to look beyond its orderbook with the U.S. aircraft manufacturer—if the price is right.

“If the U.S. 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,” wrote Ryanair Group CEO Michael O’Leary in a letter reported by Reuters. His statements come in response to U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), who has urged the Irish ULCC to remove Comac from consideration, writing to O’Leary that “U.S. and European airlines should not be even contemplating the future purchase of airplanes from Chinese military companies.”

The U.S. government in early 2025 identified Comac, manufacturer of the ARJ21 and C919, as a Chinese military contractor.

Concerned about recent O’Leary speculation that a Comac order could make sense for his budget airline should the price be low enough, Krishnamoorthi writes, “Has Ryanair had any discussions with Comac regarding potential future purchases or leases?” The U.S. lawmaker asks the European airline CEO, “Will you retract your statement and commit to not purchasing Comac airplanes?”

Krishnamoorthi also inquires whether related discussions with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) are underway.

Comac applied for EASA certification of its C919 before the 2020 global downturn and hoped to receive approval as early as this year. EASA Executive Director Florian Guillermet recently told French publication L’Usine Novelle that while approval will not come in 2025, it should not take more than 3-6 more years. Patrick Ky, Guillermet’s predecessor at EASA, is even more optimistic. In a recent editorial for French financial daily Les Echos, Ky wrote that, barring “major” unforeseen problems, certification by 2028-2029 “is likely.”

Assuming Comac ramps up production in the interim and does not pack its skyline with domestic orders, that could mean the wait for a C919 delivery slot will be shorter than a comparable Western-built narrowbody.

In his response to Krishnamoorthi, O’Leary said discussions with Comac about aircraft orders last took place more than a decade ago, the Reuters report notes, but stopped short of ruling them out.

Ryanair publicly expressed interest in the Chinese aircraft manufacturer in 2011, as it eyed potential for a second aircraft type to join its fleet. At the Paris Air Show that year it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Comac to discuss development of a 200-seat C919 variant. “We are pleased that there is now a real alternative to Boeing and Airbus,” O’Leary said at the time. Two years later, Ryanair’s attention had shifted to the Boeing MAX, though it indicated continued interest in a stretched version of Comac’s narrowbody. “It would be good to have three competitors,” reiterated O’Leary in 2013.

Comac unveiled concepts for stretched and short variants of its C919 aircraft in 2023.

Today, Ryanair has 179 Boeing aircraft on order according to the Aviation Week Network Fleet Discovery database: 150 yet-to-be-certified 737-10s, plus 29 737-8-200s, a higher density version of the MAX 8. It has options for another 150 737-10s and 25 737-8-200s. A vocal critic of Boeing delays, Ryanair is hopeful that delivery of its 737-10s could start in spring 2027. O’Leary told Aviation Week in February that due to delivery holdups, “All of our growth is delayed by one year.”