(Bloomberg) – Irish airline Ryanair would consider canceling her 330 Boeing aircraft () and moving to alternative manufacturers if tariffs significantly affect the price of aircraft, Michael O’leary’s CEO told a major US legislator.
O’Leary wrote the letter in response to a warning from US representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, an Illinois Democrat, who told Ryanair that US and European airlines should not buy Chinese manufacturer’s aircraft Comac for safety reasons.
The CEO of the airline, known for his blunt statements, had already suggested the idea of resorting to Comac if prices were lower than those of Boeing or Airbus. He responded to Krishnamoorthi’s letter with a criticism of President Donald Trump’s fares, who have touched an aviation sector that has largely been protected from tariffs since a 1979 treaty.
“If the US government continues its plan poorly designed to impose tariffs and if these tariffs materially affect Boeing aircraft exports to Europe, then we will certainly reassess,” O’Leary said about Ryanair’s requests on Thursday and seen by Bloomberg News.
Ryanair operates a fleet of over 600 Boeing 737 aircraft. Its order book with the American manufacturer is valued at over $ 33 billion, according to the CEO, with deliveries scheduled for the next decade.
Executives from aerospace companies and airlines are running to find ways to protect themselves against the payment of surcharge. Some carriers have refused, and Bloomberg News reported that Delta Air Lines is redirecting deliveries from European manufacturer Airbus through Tokyo to prevent US tariffs.
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So far, China is the only large market to reciprocally increase US import rates. However, costs infiltrated the global supply chain and the possibility of new retaliation, for example, from the European Union, had a disagreeing impact on demand for aircraft.
In the letter, previously reported by Reuters, O’Leary emphasized the need to obtain the lowest costs for Europe’s leading low -cost airline, stating that this “is vital to our business model.”
Although Ryanair has not discussed aircraft purchases with Comac, officially the China aircraft commercial corporation since about 2011, O’Leary said it would consider it if it could get better conditions.
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“It is up to Boeing and the US government to ensure that their large aircraft have competitive prices,” he said.
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