Ryanair hopes Boeing MAX 10 certification delay will be short, CEO says

WARSAW, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary said on Tuesday that he hoped an announced delay in certification of Boeing MAX 10 planes would be "a matter of days, not weeks or months". "We still expect to receive the first 15 MAX 10 aircraft in the spring of 2027," he said during a conference in Warsaw.

The US Federal Aviation Administration said on Monday it will hold off certifying Boeing's long-delayed 737 MAX 10 until a newly disclosed software issue is resolved, the latest setback to the planemaker's efforts to bring the largest version of its best-selling jet to market.

O'Leary told Reuters that despite the latest hurdle, he was happy with the delivery of 29 Boeing aircraft over the summer and he saw "signs of real progress being made on quality and on production".

The Irish airline is Boeing's largest European customer.

RYANAIR SEES GROWTH, HIGHER AIR FARES

Ryanair said on Tuesday it would base three additional aircraft at Warsaw-Modlin airport, increasing its fleet there to nine aircraft as part of a $300 million investment aimed at supporting an expected doubling of passenger numbers.

The airline will also add 18 flights from Warsaw's Modlin and Chopin airports during the winter season.

The company also said it was considering Poland as one of the locations for a new engine shop, with a decision expected by the end of the year.

O'Leary was generally optimistic about the demand for air travel, but said that jet fuel costs would push summer 2027 fares up by 15% to 20%.

"We're optimistic for the future, but there's lots of short-term challenges, most notably what will happen with (Donald) Trump and the Republicans in the midterm elections in November," he told Reuters in an interview.

"We want to see a resolution of the war in Ukraine. We want to see a resolution of the war in the Middle East. We'd like everybody to get back to peace, love and air travel."

(Reporting by Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk, writing by Pawel Florkiewicz; Editing by Louise Heavens)