I’ve at all times been fascinated by Ryanair, or extra probably by Michael O’Leary. No interview with him has ever been uninteresting. No matter you must say about him as an individual, you’ll be able to’t deny that he has constructed one of the exceptional airways in Europe and arguably a enterprise mannequin that has impressed carriers around the globe. His Irish attraction, blunt honesty, and talent to unlock a deal have made him the envy of plane producers. He famously was quoted in March 2025 saying “I don’t care who makes them, whether or not it’s Boeing, Airbus or Comac. So long as the value is correct, we’d purchase it,”. Extra usually the headlines deal with his quips about charging to make use of the bathroom or standing-only seating, however the fact is Ryanair has accomplished an unbelievable job working a enterprise that’s now the flagship operator of the once-troubled 737 MAX, or as authorized and regulatory documentation calls it, the 737-8-200.
As Europeans, we sit up for our summer season holidays. Our American pals might joke about how a lot of August we appear to spend away, however one group that definitely doesn’t take a break is the aircrew. Ryanair’s summer season operation is as intense because it will get, with plane flying extra legs per day than nearly every other airline within the area. What makes it much more spectacular is that the airline nonetheless managed an on-time efficiency of 89% in June and 88% in July, no small feat when you find yourself speaking about greater than 100,000 flights a month. Kudos to the crews for that achievement.
One cause for that degree of effectivity is how Ryanair is deploying its 737 MAX fleet. With Boeing’s newest announcement that 25 new MAX 8 plane will likely be delivered by October as an alternative of subsequent spring, the price range provider will be capable of provide extra flights. That curiosity led me to dig into the numbers from this previous summer season, simply how the kind was used. Between June and late August 2025, Ryanair Group operated over 320,000 flights, and greater than 85,000 of these have been flown by the MAX. Put one other approach, greater than one in 4 Ryanair flights this summer season was on the latest Boeing narrowbody, a share that quietly edged up from 26.5% in early June to 27.6% by the tip of August.
What fascinates me most is how Ryanair has been steadily weaving the MAX into its community. The plane is unfold throughout its working certificates, however the Irish mother or father airline took the lion’s share at about 65% of MAX flights, with Malta Air flying round 23% and Buzz in Poland the remaining 11%. The unfold has been constant all summer season, which reveals the steadiness Ryanair is placing between markets.
Now I gained’t bore you an excessive amount of about my summer season vacation, however in fact I did fly Ryanair from Girona to Baden-Baden. Like many people residing in Spain, I used to be simply attempting to flee the warmth for a number of days. We flew on a trusty 737-800, not a MAX this time, however what struck me was how little I bothered with the departure boards. Who actually wants them while you already know which plane is heading your approach, the place it’s on the map, and the way lengthy it’s going to take to get to the gate? That’s the enjoyment of Flightradar24 for me, monitoring the incoming plane has develop into a part of the journey, and it usually tells you greater than the screens within the terminal ever will.
Ryanair’s workhorse
Bringing it again to the 737 MAX, I used to be curious to see which plane within the fleet labored the toughest over the summer season. The info pointed to EI-HGG. By the tip of August it was primarily based out of Birmingham, however over the season it had been throughout Europe, rotating by way of completely different bases. In complete it flew 542 sectors, usually clocking up a number of legs a day throughout quite a lot of European routes. That made it the busiest Ryanair MAX of the summer season, although nonetheless about 100 flights behind the group’s total workhorse, 9H-QAA, a 737-800 primarily based in Brindisi, Italy, that usually squeezes in eight or 9 sectors a day. Extra broadly, Ryanair’s operation of the MAX is all about holding the plane transferring. Throughout the 88 days of summer season I checked out, 189 MAX plane averaged greater than 5 sectors per day, with EI-HGG setting the tempo. That relentless utilization is basic Ryanair, and it’s precisely why the fleet continues to ship such effectivity.
Trying on the geography, some clear patterns stand out. Spain was the highest vacation spot for MAX flights, adopted by the UK, Italy, Eire, and Poland. But it was Eire and Portugal the place the MAX actually punched above its weight, accounting for greater than 40% and 39% of all Ryanair flights respectively. In distinction, Italy noticed solely 18% of its sectors on the MAX, a reminder of how different Ryanair’s fleet combine may be relying available on the market.
Airports throughout Europe reveal a extremely different image of Ryanair’s MAX deployment this summer season, however the large three are not possible to overlook. Dublin got here out on prime with slightly below 5,000 MAX flights between June and August, which feels becoming given it’s Ryanair’s residence base. Then there’s Alicante, which dealt with near 4,000 MAX flights. I feel most European holidaymakers can say that sooner or later of their life they’ve both handed by way of Alicante or know any individual who has, and it is smart, it’s the gateway to so many summer season resorts. Lastly, Stansted wasn’t far behind with slightly below 4,000 MAX flights. For me, these three airports inform the story completely: Dublin the bottom, Alicante the vacation magnet, and Stansted the dependable hyperlink out of London.
The lengthy and the in need of it
Nevertheless, one airport not within the prime 10 however undoubtedly price a point out is Tenerife South, almost 70% of Ryanair companies there have been flown by the MAX. The airport additionally hosted the provider’s longest MAX sector of the season, Warsaw (WMI) to Tenerife South (TFS), with a mean flight time of 5 hours 45 minutes. Excessive utilization charges have been additionally recorded at Alicante and Faro, albeit to a lesser extent.
On the different finish of the spectrum, Rome Fiumicino noticed solely restricted MAX exercise, with the plane accounting for simply 9% of Ryanair flights. The focus at leisure-heavy bases akin to Tenerife South and Faro suggests Ryanair is deploying the MAX to maximise effectivity on longer, high-density routes the place its further seats and decrease gas burn ship the best profit. Nevertheless, there are circumstances when the MAX is being utilized on quick however widespread routes and the shortest of those is Tetuan to Malaga with a mean flight time of 27 minutes – simply sufficient time for a cup of espresso.
I do know it sounds apparent, however on short-haul flights passengers hardly ever get to decide on the plane sort, most of us ebook on worth, slot time, or a mixture of the 2. However due to a bit digging (and naturally FR24), I can let you know that if you happen to’re a 737 MAX fanatic, one of the best place to be this summer season was on vacation flights to Portugal or Spain. On the Dublin to Faro route, for instance, there was a few two-in-three probability of flying on a MAX. The identical utilized to Dublin to Málaga, Dublin to Edinburgh, and even Cologne to Palma de Mallorca. In contrast, on the core trunk routes like Dublin to Stansted or Dublin to Gatwick, the MAX was nonetheless solely a minority presence.
On a private word, I depend myself fortunate to have flown on a brand-new Ryanair MAX from Dublin to Stansted. The plane was solely seven days outdated, and you might nonetheless catch that unmistakable new airplane scent that appears to return solely from Seattle. Boeing might have had its challenges holding tempo with Airbus in recent times, and Airbus has definitely delivered some improbable plane throughout each the narrowbody and widebody markets, however for me, there may be nonetheless one thing particular a few Ryanair Boeing. So long as Ryanair retains counting on the 737, I imagine Boeing will proceed to carry a robust footing in Europe.
Trying again over the summer season information, what I see isn’t a dramatic shift however a quiet and regular integration of the MAX into Ryanair’s community. The numbers level to a measured rollout that delivers excessive utilisation, broad market protection, and a robust presence on vacation routes. Ryanair continues to serve the on a regular basis traveller, however for my part, it additionally caters to the aviation fanatic. Right here is an airline working one of the environment friendly plane in its market, acquired on the sharpest worth (we may write a complete second piece on that alone), whereas making no excuses for its no-frills method. It doesn’t costume itself up with loyalty factors or attempt to offer you a way of self-importance. As an alternative, it focuses on what actually issues to these of us who love aviation: the flying itself. And the best way Ryanair has introduced the MAX into its fleet feels very a lot according to the airline’s DNA, pragmatic, and, although it would ache some to confess it, at all times just a bit bit forward of the remainder.
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