- The CEO of Ireland-based Ryanair had some choice words for Boeing over delayed deliveries of the 737 MAX.
- CEO Michael O'Leary said in an earnings call on Monday that Boeing management needs a "reboot, or a boot up the a–".
- O'Leary said the delays have forced the airline to cut back on spring and summer flying.
The CEO of Ireland-based Ryanair is fuming at Boeing over delayed deliveries of the 737 MAX.
In a heated investor earnings call on Monday, Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary called out Boeing management for delaying aircraft deliveries and forcing the airline to pull back their spring and summer schedules.
Ryanair is the biggest buyer of the 737 MAX in Europe and a "willing customer" to Boeing, reported CNBC, but O'Leary is livid at the planemaker's slow deliveries. According to the CEO, the company expected some of the jets on order to deliver in late April, but that has been pushed back to late June.
"At the moment we think Boeing management is running around like headless chickens, not able to sell aircraft, and then even the aircraft they deliver, they're not able to deliver them on time," he said, according to a transcription reported by CNN.
The CEO didn't hold back in the call, saying Boeing staff needed a "reboot, or a boot up the a–," and accused the sales team of "sitting at home in their f—ing jimjams working from home instead of being out there selling planes to customers."
Ryanair did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment, while Boeing referred Insider to Ryanair.
O'Leary's frustration particularly stems from "white tail" MAX planes sitting in Seattle. The brandless jets were built for other airlines years ago, but the orders were subsequently canceled after two fatal crashes led to a 20-month grounding of the MAX.
Ryanair is purchasing these planes and wants to buy more, but O'Leary says Boeing is dragging its feet in sales and delivery.
"We're a willing customer, but we're struggling with slow deliveries and an inability to do a deal on new aircraft despite the number of white tails they have sitting on the f---ing ground in Seattle," he continued.
According to CNN, O'Leary wants to get his hands on some of the white tail planes for summer 2023 and 2024 because "there's growth there to be won," but says in order to do that, Boeing would need to "get their s--- together."
If Ryanair can't strike a deal, O'Leary said the airline is looking to lease aircraft to power its expansion, reported Reuters.
This is not O'Leary's first run-in with Boeing. In September, Ryanair ended talks discussing a large order for 737 MAX 10 jets due to pricing disagreements, according to Fortune, with O'Leary calling Boeing's pricing "delusional."
Meanwhile, US airlines like American Airlines and United Airlines have also taken issue with Boeing over delays of a different plane, the widebody 787 Dreamliner.
In December, American revealed that 13 Dreamliners wouldn't be delivered on time, forcing the company to suspend or postpone international markets because it won't have enough planes to fly the routes. United has also been forced to cut capacity due to delays, reported Bloomberg.
The 787 has been facing quality control issues, with the FAA halting deliveries in May 2021 until further notice while they perform in-depth inspections of the jet, reported Chicago Business.