By Jonas Ekblom
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Ryanair (I:RYA) may not receive any 737 MAX aircraft from Boeing (N:BA) by mid-2020 at the earliest due to European delays in testing the grounded jets, Chief Executive Michael O'Leary said.
O'Leary told Reuters on Tuesday that testing in Europe was running behind the U.S. due to the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) wanting to be seen as independent from U.S. regulators, It meant planes were likely to remain grounded there until April or May, he said.
Ryanair estimates the issue is costing it at least 100 million euros ($110.22 million)a year. The low-cost carrier trimmed its passenger traffic forecast last week but that was still based on 10 MAX deliveries by June, having previously reduced its expectations to 20 from the 60 originally scheduled.
"We're still looking to meet with Boeing in mid-early January," O'Leary said in an interview. "We expect the Max to be back flying in early January, particularly in North America. We think it could be a bit slower in Europe because the EASA seems to be dragging their heels a little bit.
"What looks now, maybe ten, maybe none, maybe 15, in advance of summer 2020. The critical thing for us is that the aircraft returns to service. The implications for the next 12 months is that we will be short of our original fleet growth aspirations."
The 737 MAX, Boeing's fastest-selling aircraft, was grounded earlier this year after two crashes attributed to anti-stall software in which a total of 346 people died.
U.S. airlines have cancelled MAX flights until March and a return to service is likely to take longer in Europe. EASA suspended all flight operations related to the aircraft in March.
Ryanair, one of the biggest MAX customers with 210 planes on order, last week cut its traffic forecast to 156 million passengers for the year to March 31, 2021 from 157 million.
The Irish carrier will not be able to put a final cost on the delays until the planes are back flying and deliveries plotted, O'Leary said, "but it is certainly costing us more than a 100 million a year."