Ryanair to order up to 300 new planes by year-end - O'Leary

Irish low-cost airline Ryanair is to order or take firm options on up to 300 new aircraft from Boeing or Airbus by the end of the year, its boss Michael O'Leary said in an interview yesterday.

He told German weekly magazine Der Spiegel that Ryanair, which announced a net loss earlier this month, wanted to double its operating profit this year.

Saying that cut-price operators always benefitted from a recession, in aviation or trade, Mr O'Leary said Ryanair would be seeking to take advantage of low prices from manufacturers. "That is why we want to order from Boeing or Airbus, or take firm options on, up to 300 new planes by the end of the year," he said.

Ryanair, which currently operates some 190 aircraft, all Boeing 737s, will be carrying up to 150 million passengers a year by 2017, compared with 58.5 million last year, Mr O'Leary predicted.

The flamboyant airline boss also told Der Spiegel that recent remarks expressing interest in acquiring German flag-carrier Lufthansa were not a joke, but gave no details.