Ryanair makes orders for Boeing's 737 Max

Yahoo Finance's Alexis Keenan joins Kristin Myers to discuss Ryanair's move to order Boeing's controversial 737 Max plane.

Video Transcript

KRISTIN MYERS: Let's talk Boeing now. Ryanair says they will be ordering some of Boeing's 737 MAX planes. We have Alexis Keenan here now with more details. Hey, Alexis.

ALEXIS KEENAN: Hi, Kristin. Some-- actually, a lot-- 75 more 737 MAX 8 aircraft that Ryanair has agreed to buy from Boeing, so that's a major boon for Boeing that has really struggled to get this aircraft sold and out of its lots, basically. That brings Ryanair's total commitment for the MAX to 210 airplanes. Its CEO, Michael O'Leary, said today that the company also plans to accelerate the deliveries to get this aircraft into service as soon as this summer. The announcement was made at a joint event attended by both Ryanair executives as well as Boeing executives in Washington, DC today.

Now, you could argue that these purchases are kind of a gamble for Ryanair given the uncertainty surrounding passengers' willingness to really get onboard and fly on this aircraft, yet to be tested, of course, and that's after the two crashes that killed 346 passengers and led to that worldwide grounding that in the US lasted for 20 months and is still pending around the world.

Now, to give you an idea of just how reliant on the MAX Ryanair intends to become, take a look at this. Over the next five years, the fleet will grow from 400 to 600 aircraft, with the MAX representing 36% of its total fleet by 2026. O'Leary said that he is not concerned about whether passengers will avoid this aircraft. He emphasized that in the end it will be the most audited aircraft in history.

As for Boeing, we've got a little tidbit from David Calhoun, who said that they can probably-- that Boeing could probably shorten the time frame that it was estimating to roll these planes back into service, and that's because of COVID-19 vaccines. He said the progress there is promising for Boeing. It had previously said it would take three to five years to get this MAX program back into service fully. Kristin?

KRISTIN MYERS: All right. Thanks so much, Alexis. Boeing right now up just over 6%--